So, I've been MIA for a bit because I've been working night shift. I was originally going to post my opinions after the first week, but I thought it best to give it some time before expressing my impression.
Honestly, it's not so bad...but I don't love it. The first week I must have had a rush of adrenaline because I didn't feel tired at all. After having three weeks under my belt, and one to go, it's really catching up wtih me. Even as I type this, my brain is fuzzy and finding it difficult to form a sentence. This is even after I got 9 hours of sleep last night.
Sleep aside, there are a lot of differences between working day shift and night shift. It's not that one is better than the other, they are just different. There are many factors that go into working one over the other...money, personality, work-life balance, needs of the unit, etc...
Here is what I have discovered so far:
There are fewer interruptions at night. For the most part, once you organize what needs to be done with your patients, very little changes. You may have to juggle an emergency or an admission, but you don't have meds being adjusted, PT swinging by, eye exams or families milling around for half the shift.
Night shift is a tight crew. They are definitely proud to be working nights and wouldn't have it any other way. No doubt, you have to know your stuff working nights. The docs go to sleep and it really forces you to employ all your skills before waking them to intervene.
Night shifters are night owls. They find ways to survive and thrive on ridiculously small amounts of sleep. They seem to enjoy not having the docs milling around. Great pride is taken in getting the bed tidy and making the babies all fresh and clean. They must be hiding an extra set of hands because I don't seem to have enough to weigh a baby and change linens for a baby on an oscillator all by myself. This is surely a skill that I will aquire with time.
Day shift is full of activity, verging on chaos. Rounds are in the mornings, adjustments are made to the plan of care, speech swings by to teach a baby to feed, PT works on positioning and body movements, education provides developmentally appropriate stimulation, plus emergencies, admissions and discharges. Drips/lines are changed steriley resulting in a tangled mess of spaghetti. Of course fluids never arrive early enough and this is done when you are trying to organize everything just before change of shift. Nurses step in and out for committee meetings or classes.
Day shifters have to be early birds. They are up before dawn, but don't get home until after their young kids are in bed.
So, after my time on both, I am decidely a day shifter. I like the activity. I like being a part of rounds, contributing to the plan of care, and gaining an understanding of my patients current diagnoses. I like being available for committee meetings and contributing to the changing practices on the unit. I like collaborating with all the disciplines on the unit. I do miss seeing the kids on the days I work. I leave the house at 6 AM and don't get home until 8:30. It's tough, but on my days off, I am full of energy. I get to see my husband and have a little down time, even on days that I work.
Somehow, Blogger timed out and I lost half my post 2 days ago. I've been working on this post for 3 days between interruptions, deletions and sleepiness. At this point, I'm just hoping the thoughts here are coherrent.
Being on night shift, I feel hungover, dehydrated and downright fuzzy headed ALL the time. The first week wasn't so bad. I thought, "hey, I can do this". The second week was tough, but I bounced back. The third week hit me like a mac truck and dragged me along for a few miles. I will start week four tonight. I think this will send me over the edge. Luckily, I am dayshift starting Friday. I know I will have to rotate onto nights after orientation, but I likely won't have to do it for a month at a time. Just a week or two in a row, every 6 weeks. That, I can manage. Of course, I am not above taking on more night shifts to make extra bank in the event we have not aquired a second source of predictable income. Brian has really been keeping us afloat with his freelance work, but it's so unreliable I view it more like bonus money, than income.
While it's great to see the kids more, I don't feel like I'm entirely present in the experience. I don't have the energy to suggest creative things or make the efforts to take them to the pool (knowing that I will be begging and pleading with them to get their faces wet the entire time). I get to see my husband, but it's surrounded by the usual hustle and bustle of homework/bath/and dinnertime for the kids. And forget getting a moment to myself. I've resorted to bringing my laptop upstairs with me when I go to bed to steal a quick glance at my email and cnn.com. I also don't think I make decisions as quickly on night shift. The brain is slow and sleepy. But, heck, the extra money is nice. And, I can park right next to the hospital instead of catching the bus.
At the end of the day (or night), I will just make do with whatever I have to work. It's income and it's a job I love. There are a lot of people who don't get to say that. Maybe it's not ideal, but it is my reality for now. I've just got to get myself through Wednesday at 7:30 AM. I think I can, I think I can.
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