Working the Nightshift

Throughout my career in health care I have worked my fair share of night shifts mostly because I held night shift positions. I never did it for too long as it is quite tiring and it takes its toll on your personal life and health. It is hard at times when you sleep most of the day away just so you can stay awake most of the night. You don't get a lot of daylight to enjoy a health social life or even a romantic life.

For the most part I really don’t mind working the nights as it is usually quieter. Typically I go home at the end tired just because I worked the night. There are times when I am tired due to being overly stressed from a hectic or intensely busy shift. It is so much nicer if the tiredness is not due to work stresses. duh!!

When I worked as a care aide I found the nights to be almost boring. There were always times when you were running around busy as a bee but those nights usually only happened a few times a months, the remainder would be quite and boring.

Now that I work as a LPN I find the night shift a little busier as there is much more paper work. With a well planned out schedule everything gets done on time, usually. There are times when you have to stay an extra hour to catch up on things. I find that there are still quiet moments during my 8 hours that will allow me to get some extras done. Sometimes I will just take a breather to read a magazine or a book that I have brought with me.

I find the camaraderie with the night staff is a good one. In essence there is only a skeleton crew during nights on your unit (typically one nurse and 1-2 care aides). You learn to work together quickly, after all you have to depend on one another during your shift while you are providing care for 30-70 residents/patients. You do have other care aides and nurses on the other units who can be there for support when needed

When I worked as a care aide you often were on your own for those 8hrs of the night shift. You were the only staff on site. You had contact with staff at the other sites and an on-call supervisor if extra support/direction was needed. The biggest difference of course was that I only worked with 4-6 people in a group home setting as a care aide VS the 35-70 residents/patients that I have to look after when working the nights as a LPN in a seniors care facility. Of course there are a whole lot of other differences.

I have been working mainly nights since September 2011 until recently. I started a temporary position at work that allows me to work other shifts more often. It is much nicer. I still work some night shifts most every week but it isn't a just the graveyard shifts. Variety is good.