Nursing Shift Wars: 6-2 vs. 2-10 vs. 10-6

Morning Shift (6AM - 2PM)

• Must wake up at 4 in the morning. Ugh.
• No traffic to work. Yay.
• Feeling of being in one with the rest of the country's working class hours. Yay.
• Morning Care. Ugh.
• Change of linens. Ugh.
• Twice the meds. (OD meds are most commonly given at 8AM) Ugh/Yay depending on nurse's preferences on duty toxicity.
• Doctor's rounds, carry out orders. Ugh/Yay, still depends on RN's preference. More experience for students/trainees, more work for staff.
• OPD hours. Too many people in clinics. Ugh.
• Less visitors before lunch. Yay.
• High frequency of student nurses in wards doing Vital Signs. YAY.
• Humid trip back home. Ugh.
• Plenty of remaining hours after shift to do whatever. YAY.

Afternoon Shift (2PM - 10PM)

• Get to wake up late in the day, no sleep deprivation issues. Double Yay.
• Humid trip to work plus traffic. Ugh.
• More visitors in the afternoon. Ugh.
• Discharge papers, instructions, nagging relatives all in one shift. Ugh.
• Late night commute plus high chance of hold-upper being in the same jeep/bus/FX as you are. SCARY.
• Change clothes, sleep 'till whatever hour the next day. Heaven.

Evening Shift (10PM - 6AM)

• Cool and breezy commute to work. Yay.
• Calm and serene ward. Patients are asleep. Yay.
• Very few to no visitors. Yay.
• Night life is hospital life. Ugh.
• Inevitable retelling of hospital ghost stories. Scary.
• Probable actual ghost encounter. Scarier.
• Shift can feel like forever if the area is not busy.
• Staying up while the majority of people you know is asleep. Ugh.
• Sleeping in while the majority of people you know is hard at work. Yay.

 

Okay, so I'm biased. I'm a night person, I hate waking up early in the morning. I like my sleep long and uninterrupted by annoying alarm clocks. So, my verdict: Afternoon Shift 2am-10pm.

Yes, evil wallet/cellphone-taking people lurk during the wee hours of the night but from experience, commuting at 10PM isn't as scary as it seem. Plenty of people are still out and sometimes it's even hard getting a ride. Granted, this shift only works for people who live near the hospital they are working at. The best thing about it is (for me at least) that I've proven that this is a great weight loss shift as long as you sleep right after getting home. Lost a couple of pounds with no food restrictions after a week in this shift. All I can say is Major Major YAY.