What’s life like as a graveyard shift nurse? Night shift nurses may work eight-, 10- or 12-hour shifts during the nighttime hours. The pace may sometimes be a bit slower than during the day, but night shift RNs must still handle an array of tasks, like medication administration.
It’s smart to start thinking about what your nursing career might look like even while you’re still in nursing school. Clinical placements will expose you to a few different nursing specialties, but you’ll also want to think about your ideal workplace and preferred shift schedule.
Nurses are needed around the clock in different settings, and many registered nurses are night shift nurses. Even if you’ve never worked a night shift before, you might want to give some thought to the potential benefits and challenges of working a nurse’s night shift. Here’s a look at what to know and what to expect.
What Does a Night Shift Nurse Do?
Like day shift nurses, a night shift nurse can often expect to work 12-hour shifts, such as from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. Other night shifts might only be eight or 10 hours long. Nurses working 12-hour shifts can typically expect to work three days out of every seven for a 36-hour work week.
In many respects, the night shift is much like the day shift. Nurses need to review a great deal of patient information at the beginning of every shift and perform tasks such as administering medications, checking vital signs, replacing IV fluid bags, helping patients get to the toilet safely and so on. Similarly, nurses always need to be prepared to address an emergency at any time. There are some differences between the night shift and the day shift, however.
During the night shift, visiting hours are typically already over or almost over, which means nurses field fewer questions from patients’ loved ones. There may be fewer admissions overnight, although new patients can still come into a unit any time of the day or night. During the night shift, nurses may answer fewer call lights than day shift nurses; patients don’t always sleep through the night, but some will.
What do nurses do during any given shift? Get more details here!
Benefits of Working as a Graveyard Shift Nurse
Choosing a job as a night shift nurse offers some unique benefits compared to day shift nursing. Consider the following:
Shift Differential Pay (Financial Incentives)
Night shift RNs are normally paid more than their day shift counterparts. This is intended to compensate them for the nontraditional working hours. In the nursing field, it’s typically referred to as “shift differential” or “shift diff” pay. As a graveyard shift nurse, your extra pay might be expressed as a percentage of your standard rate, such as 125%, or as an additional flat rate per hour.
Slower Work Environment
Patients need care at all hours. While the night shift might offer a slower pace of work, nurses fill an important role when needs do arise. Patients might have trouble sleeping, need help getting to the toilet or require medication. You’ll likely be able to focus more on providing exceptional patient care and ensuring you’re current on patient documentation. An easier commute to and from work is an added benefit.
Easier Entry Into the Nursing Profession
Thanks to the somewhat slower pace of night shift nursing, it can be an ideal choice for a new nursing school graduate. After you’ve passed the NCLEX-RN® exam and obtained your state nursing license, you might want to start looking for a night shift job to ease your entry into the field. In fact, some facilities prefer or require that new nurses start on the night shift.
Fewer Visitors
As a night shift nurse, you might only deal with a few visitors at the beginning or end of your shift. While interacting with patients’ loved ones and delivering patient caregiver education is a must-have skill for nurses, it’s also true that fewer visitors create more time to focus on patients. Keep in mind that some patients might have a loved one staying overnight in the room with them.
Challenges of the Nurse’s Night Shift
While working as a night shift RN does offer advantages, there are also some challenges to consider. The top challenge is the impact on your sleep schedule and overall health. It can take some time to acclimate your mind and body to sleeping during the daytime and staying awake all night. Some RNs might switch back to a traditional sleep schedule for their days off, while others might prefer to stick with their nontraditional schedule for the sake of consistency.
There are also potential effects on your long-term health. Research suggests that night shift work can increase the risk of:
- Metabolic syndrome
- Accidents
- Certain types of cancer
Working as a night shift RN can also have an impact on your social life and family. For example, you may have less time to spend with them and be more tired when you do. If you have young children and a partner, night shift nursing might actually offer a good solution for childcare. If your partner works days and you work nights, one of you will always be home for the kids.
There is a wide range of nursing specialties to consider pursuing, regardless of whether you plan to work at night or during the day.
How to Survive the Night Shift as a Nurse
It’s important to carefully weigh the potential benefits against the potential risks when deciding whether to pursue a job opportunity as a graveyard shift nurse. When considering the disadvantages, however, keep in mind that there are ways to mitigate them. Here are some tips:
Adjust Your Sleep Schedule
It’s important to get between seven and nine hours of sleep every 24 hours. Adjust your sleep schedule in whichever way works best for your needs. For example, you might find it advantageous to stay awake for a few hours after your shift ends in the morning so you can wake up closer to when you leave for work in the evening.
You might also decide to try a split-nap schedule. This strategy involves sleeping for several hours as soon as you get home from work in the morning. Then, you can wake up and handle personal matters for a while. This is followed by a longer nap before leaving for work in the evening.
Regardless of your preferred schedule, be sure to practice good sleep hygiene. Invest in blackout curtains to keep your bedroom dark during the day. Keep the bedroom at a comfortable temperature, run a white noise machine and consider wearing earplugs to limit noise from household members.
Prioritize Healthy Habits
No matter which sleep schedule you choose, it’s important to prioritize your physical and mental health. Be sure to:
- Exercise on most days of the week.
- Enjoy healthy meals and snacks.
- Stay well-hydrated.
- Limit the amount of caffeine you consume.
Practice Stress Management
All nurses can experience stress, and night shift nurses are no exception. Your stress levels might be exacerbated if your schedule leaves little room for spending time with family and friends. Practice stress management techniques, such as deep breathing and yoga, and make time for activities you enjoy.
Know When to Make a Change
It might take weeks or even months to adjust to a nurse’s night shift schedule. If months go by and you’re still struggling with your nocturnal life, you might want to talk to your supervisor about switching to day shifts. If your schedule is having a noticeable effect on your health, stress level or relationships, you may not want to wait too long before exploring a change.
Is Night Shift Nursing Worth It?
With all the challenges of being a graveyard shift nurse, is this career choice worth it? There is no universal answer. Some nurses enjoy working the night shift, while others struggle with it. Night shift nursing could be worth it for you, but the only way to know for sure is to try it for a while.
Prepare to Tackle Nursing Challenges at Harding
No matter what your career as a nurse will look like, you can prepare for your future at Harding University. If you have a non-nursing bachelor’s degree or at least 64 non-nursing college credits, you could qualify for our accelerated Bachelor of Science in nursing program in Arkansas. By leveraging your prior education, it’s possible to graduate in as few as 16 months upon the successful completion of any prerequisites.
Our nursing instructors prepare students to tackle any modern challenge in nursing, including night shift nursing. We focus on building resilience and adaptability, along with other key nursing qualities like compassion.
Contact an admissions counselor at Harding today to learn more and find out whether our ABSN program could be a good fit for you.