I have worked nights for the entirety of my nursing career. The few day-shifts I’ve worked were for orientation as a new nurse or at a new hospital. I love my night shifts. Don’t get me wrong, like with anything else, there are pros and cons. But when people ask me why, I reply:
#1 I’m a night person.
Some people naturally wake up early in the morning, and they can function and get several tasks done. I am not that person. Prior to becoming a nurse, I worked at Dunkin’ Donuts and then worked retail. Dunkin’ Donuts required me to be in at varying times 5, 6, or 7 o’clock in the morning. Now, being late gives me anxiety, and unfortunately there were more than one time I overslept and woke up by them calling me. At a retail job, two others and I would gather at 4am for a delivery. It was once a week, so it didn’t bother me. I loved being done with my day at noon. I hated waking up. My normal circadian rhythm has always pushed me towards the latter nights. As the summer is upon us, I’ve been trying to wake up earlier on my days off before the eight o’clock hours is my aim.
#2 I’m an introvert.
Like many writers, I am an introvert. My normal day to day I try to steer clear of crowds. I love my friends and family, but my energy levels dwindle quickly before I need to recuperate. With that said, nights have a few staff and overall people. The upper leadership, management, social workers, and family have limited availability, if at all. The smaller group of people allows for minimal interactions, creating a less noisy and calmer overall atmosphere where the lights are turned off.
#3 More time during the day…sometimes.
Night shifters typically sleep when working during the night. But the nice and not so nice part, you are available during the day. By sacrificing sleep, you can schedule appointments without taking time off. In recent years I have undergone fertility treatments, and as anyone else who has been through, this knows that treatment includes many morning appointments, blood draws, ultrasounds, typically in the morning. For a person with a 9-to-5 job, would be near impossible. For a night shifter, I leave work and go to the appointment or the blood draw. Other night shifters get home in time to get their children on and off the bus. More time during the day means less time to sleep, but the option is there.
#4 Better team work.
Remember the minimal staff at night. Far few providers, nurses, techs, leadership, and resources to reach out to. But my experience with night shift, and with this day shifters who have either picked up the random shift or transitioned fully to nights, have all admitted that some days the shifts become so crazy with movement that no one can help one another. Now on nights, with the fewer people, we have learned to work more than a team and rely on one another. Night shift comes together and works well together. This will always depend on the floor, and the culture in the unit. In my experience, the night shift has a great team. We are there to help one another out.
#5 The shift differential.
The shift differential for each hospital is different, but has been a staple of night shift. Some hospitals might run off twelve-hour shifts and at 19:00 the differential begins, other facilities still run by eight-hour shifts with a separate differential for the evening and nights, 15:00 to 23:00 and 23:00 to 07:00. The few extra dollars an hour adds up. An additional $200 or a more pay check, which comes to $5,000 or more a year. This extra pay keeps people on nights.
I come from a long line of night shifters, my grandfather and my mother. Maybe it’s genetics. Do you work nights? Have you ever considered nights?