Day Shift Nursing Guide: Is it More Challenging than Night Shift Nurses?
Nursing is a good career choice for those who are interested in the healthcare field. However, people are often concerned “Do nurses have a day shift and night shift?” “What are the differences between day shift and night shift nursing schedules?” and “Is the day shift schedule harder than the night shift?”. In this article, we are going to provide you to a day shift nursing guide, as well as the pros and cons of following the day shift nursing schedule.
1. What is day shift nursing?
In general, day shift nursing is a type of registered nurse (RN) who works during the daylight hours. For hospitals and doctor’s offices, the day shift is the busiest time. Many nurses prefer this shift since it includes more “regular” working hours than the night shift. During this time, a lot of activities happen. It is the shift when surgeons, physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners visit patients. Medication is frequently altered, tests are requested and conducted, and charts are examined. In a nursing teaching facility, interns, and nurses are normally on duty during the day.
>> See more: Night Shift Nurses Guide
2. What are the benefits and drawbacks of day shift nursing?
2.1. Benefit
First of all, working with day shift nursing means you have a normal schedule as well as your sleeping circle. Your working time is the same as the majority of people in the world. You normally wake up in the morning and end your day in bed.
Besides, having a day shift can help you in improving your nursing skills. Although it is the busiest time, all the doctors, physicians, and other types of advanced nursing care are in the hospital or healthcare facility, thus, you have opportunities to develop and sharpen your nursing skills.
Moreover, it is also a good chance for you to connect with patients and their families. The relationship between nurses and patients is important because it affects the process of treatment as well as how changes your patients day by day.
As mentioned before, the day shift is a crowded time because most of the staff are there. Hence, co-workers’ relationships can be developed well. You have more opportunities to discuss with a diversity of staff to enhance your teamwork skills. In nursing, teamwork is a vital part because nurses often work in crews. Moreover, after your day shift, you also need to write reports and communicate with night shift nurses about patients’ issues as well as their condition. Thus, it is a good chance to develop a nursing relationship.
Besides, a better quality of meals served is a plus point of day shift working. Cafeterias at hospital care institutions are open 24 hours a day. Having access to a warm lunch (if you can get a break) is a huge help, especially for nurses who aren’t always excellent at cooking to bring food from home.
2.2. Drawback
Although there are several benefits you can take from the day shift, there are also some drawbacks existed. It is really hard for you to make the office thing done. For instance, you have an appointment with your local officer to complete the DMV driver’s license card, but it seems impossible without taking a day off to complete it if you work with a Mon to Fri schedule.
Besides, it is obvious that your time with your kids is limited. Normally, a day shift nursing is from 7 AM to 7 PM. You leave the house before your kids wake up and then come back home when they are having dinner already. Thus, our suggestion for you is to work a mixed schedule to have some days off time for your families.
In addition, day shift nursing is not an ideal working schedule for nurses who are more like introverts because of the chaos of relationships. Although we mentioned that it is a good chance to develop teamwork as well as patients relationship, it is a little bit overwhelmed for someone who doesn’t like talking too much while working. In addition, a day shift working also includes several managers and bosses, which can put nurses under stress and anxiety more than other shift workers.
3. What are the differences between day shift vs night shift nursing?
3.1. Working hour
The very first distinction between day shift vs night shift nursing schedules is their working time. The day shift typically begins at about 7 a.m, however, some nurses may begin as early as 5 a.m. This shift usually lasts until early evening or midevening, approximately 7 p.m. The night shift often begins between 6:30 and 7:00 p.m. Working the night shift usually entails nurses working through the night and into the morning until approximately 7 a.m.
3.2. Working culture
Doctors, surgeons, administrators, and other critical personnel frequently work the day shift in many hospitals and other patient treatment facilities. This can quicken the speed of day shift nurses’ work and provide them with additional opportunities to learn how to properly serve these medical experts. In addition, the day shift working is often in a fast working flow while everyone is busy with their duties while in the night shift work, there will be a quiet environment with a slower process.
3.3. Healthcare considerations
Aside from sleep, there are additional health considerations to consider before becoming a full-time night shift. While experimenting with the night shift for a short length of time would not necessarily have a long-term influence on your health, there is research to consider if you intend to work a night shift nursing schedule for years.
According to a recent National Toxicology Program analysis, there is “high confidence” that continuous night shift employment that causes circadian disturbance can cause cancer than the day shift nursing schedule.
3.4. Social life
It is obviously a difference between night shift vs day shift nursing social life. While night shift nurses have time to play and take care of their children in the daytime, do their housework as well as meet their friends, day shift nurses can’t do that. However, most people follow the day shift. Thus, when they relax at night and meet each other, the night shift nursing schedule still can’t follow.
3.5. Salary
In general, night shift nurses earn more than the one following the day shifting schedule. If you want to earn more at a high rate, you can consider the night shift role. However, make sure both your physical and mental health are in an awareness position.
>> See more: Nurses Salary
In summary, that’s all the information on day shift nursing guide that we want to introduce. We hope that after reading this article, you can determine which career is suitable and benefit you most. If you are still on the way to become a registered nurse, we strongly advise you to take the NCLEX Practice Test to be confident and get a flying color.