image: © istockphoto.com/Tomasz Wojnarowicz

Have you ever uttered one of these phrases to a female nurse before? I’m not going to say I did…but you won’t be hearing me say them any time in the future. This is all fun and games, of course (except for maybe #1, let’s be honest)!

1. Bad hair day today?

This is not just because yours truly has no hair (although it doesn’t help). It’s all fun and games until the ‘hair’ card is pulled – then it’s a no-holds-barred war over why you think their hair looks bad. Did it always look bad? Is it the color? Is it too short? Is it too long? Should it be pulled up?… (this list is endless)

2. Is it that time of the month?

This should only be said from afar. If you’re close enough to be hit- you will be. ‘Nuff said.

3. Oh! Hey? Do you have makeup on?

This comment ranks up there with the hair comment. The fact that you have noticed something about their complexion will start a river of questions concerning whether or not they have always looked bad and why haven’t you said something before.

4. Do those match?

I always love the ‘void of knowledge’ most male nurses – heck, most men – have when it comes to matching. Oh – wait, maybe this is just me?

5. There’s no crying in nursing.

Yes this is stolen – have you seen the movie “A League of Their Own?” You gotta love Tom Hanks. And this can be quite debilitating. Be careful.

Of course this is all in fun. Don’t take any of this seriously, nor think for one second I or other male nurses would actually these mean and horrible things. It’s just fun knowing that we men working in an obviously female-dominated profession have a good grasp on our co-workers sensitivities.

It’s kind of like a married man knowing what to say and what NOT to say to his loving wife.

Right?

Pictured below is Robo-Nurse (RN), an “animated, strong, smart, swift, and an ultra-efficient ‘Wonder-Woman,’” according to illustrator Eric Tomakin, a staff nurse in the Johns Hopkins Department of Surgery.  In his vision of nursing’s future, “Robo-Nurse (RN) will be every little girl’s (and boy’s) dream profession. Recruitment will be a breeze. They will come in droves. Their destination is assured, and their destiny is defined!”

Starting her new job as a Labor & Delivery nurse inspired Margaret Fink to envision this “OB Nurse of the Future.”   “Sitting down with a blank piece of paper and a nice new Sharpie ® pen is one of my favorite ways to relax,” says Fink, who completed the accelerated nursing program in July.  ”I can’t wait to see what new experiences will inspire me next.”

Eric Tomakin

Maggie Fink

[Pictures courtesy Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing

Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing is a Scrubsmag.com partner.

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Think back to your middle school and high school days. There were the stereotypical bullies that everyone tried to steer clear of. They picked on the weakest, they picked on the youngest, they picked on the ones they were most threatened by. The media even hits on this rampant problem that is still around in schools today with the production of movies such as Mean Girls.

Although as professionals we all have grown up in age since then, do you ever wonder if people that surround you at work have grown up in maturity?

We have a journal club at work that meets each month to discuss articles of interest related to nursing or healthcare. This month’s article was about bullying in the workplace, most specifically in the nursing field.

Some interesting findings? Although there has been minimal research into the issue surrounding workplace bullying, all studies that have been done nationally and internationally report that over 50% of interviewed nurses have experienced some form of bullying at work. Now, one can argue that women tend to be sensitive creatures and even constructive criticism can be perceived as bullying, but by definition bullying involves multiple efforts to cause another person physical or emotional harm or injury. Obviously in the hospital setting, there is (hopefully) no physical abuse between co-workers. But a specific type of bullying that deals strictly with the emotional aspect involved, called relational aggression, is the equivalent in the adult world to the bully that walks down the hallways in school with her elbows out taking down all the weaklings.

Some examples of bullying in the workplace? Nurses that voiced their personal experiences with bullying included instances of gossiping about a certain co-worker, the formation of cliques among groups of nurses and ostracizing others, purposeful withholding of information from another nurse, bossy nurses, pushy nurses, or nurses that always criticize another nurse in front of others, and failing to help out a fellow nurse.

Who are these bullies? I thoroughly enjoyed the portion of the article where nurse bullies were given identities based on certain characteristics they displayed. The Supernurse is always right, has always been a better nurse than you, and will always be a better nurse than you. Just accept it. The Resentful Nurse is still holding a grudge against you from when you had to give her a 4th patient when you were in charge three months back. You obviously aren’t a team player. The PGR Nurse Puts downs her co-workers, Gossips about others constantly, and spreads vicious Rumors. She is always great for lunch conversations, as long as you aren’t the one being conversed about. The Backstabbing Nurse cultivates friendships then betrays them for her own good. She is the epitome of Jekyll and Hyde in nursing. The Green-with-Envy Nurse does everything in her power to obtain a certain status that she is envious of, no matter what or who stands in her way. Although some of her patients might be green from nausea, she is green from greed. The Cliquish Nurse reveals her bullying by playing favorites or by excluding others. If you’re not “in”, you can see your way “out.”

What makes you a target? As unfair as it seems, bulling trends tend to correlate with the old nursing adage that scares many away from the profession that “nurses eat their young.” New graduates or new hires are often targeted because they haven’t quite found their niche either socially or professionally.

Those that are recognized or honored for a job well done are often the target of jealous nurses displaying covert means of bullying as they try to even the playing field and increase their own recognition. And unfortunately, much like the movie Mean Girls, those nurses with close relationships with physicians may be the target of gossiping and wide open flood gates of the rumor mill. Times of stress, understaffing, and low floor morale can also increase the likelihood of bullying. As ridiculous as these examples seem, similar circumstances exist in the workplace that should be acknowledged and addressed.

What to do? To combat this problem that has recently peaked as an interest in the field, the Joint Commission, as of January 1st, is requiring that institutions have a process in place to address and handle “intimidating and disruptive” behavior in the workplace. What that means? I’m not so sure…

Some institutions are adopting a more democratic model to their management and eradicating the hierarchy found in many floors. Awareness in our own practices does wonders for a problem as preventable as this.

• If you see bullying first hand on your unit, without causing extra conflict, do you best to intervene.
• Actively UNparticipate in gossiping by redirecting conversation to something more neutral or walking away from the offender.
• If a new grad is having a difficult time, take her under your wing…we’ve all been there.

We have a council on our unit, the Recruitment and Retention Council, that I think by nature unintentionally does a nice job of eliminating some bullying tendencies by creating a sense of community among the unit. They plan team building exercises and tackle problems that are the root of low morale phases on the unit. This is an issue that can and should be resolved in the hospital setting. Nurses are nurturing and deemed the ultimate caregivers by nature of the job, so we need to start acting like it.

Has anyone experienced bullying themselves at work? How is your unit tackling the issue?

Image: Melinda Fawver | © Veer Incorporated

Perhaps the following scenario sounds familiar: You’ve graduated from nursing school and landed your first job as a nurse. The salary isn’t quite what you were hoping for, but with some extra shifts or overtime—or maybe by furthering your education—your financial future looks pretty good.

Or…

Let’s say you’ve just gotten a promotion and with seniority you have that nice salary increase to boot. You’re feeling pretty comfortable and heck…what with the nursing shortage you’ve got some job security, right?

It’s tempting to spend your money as you get it—after all, you’ve worked hard to get to where you are, and if you’re like many nurses, you probably scrimped and did without a lot of things while in nursing school and while working your way up the ladder. Plus, you may have student loans to pay off and your salary may not leave you with that much of a monthly cushion.

So why are financial advisers telling you that you should start paying yourself (i.e., saving) right away?

Why you should save

• Good habits die hard. We all know that bad habits are difficult to break, whether it’s chewing your nails or snapping gum. So the best way to avoid a bad habit is not to begin it at all. In fact, why not start good habits? Unlike bad habits, you won’t want to break these! Amy Buttell, coauthor of Personal Finance: The Missing Manual, explains that saving money for yourself and for your future is a way of taking care of yourself—something nurses do well for other people, but not always for themselves. “Saving money can help you feel psychologically secure, even feel more empowered,” she says. Knowing that you have money to fall back on can take a lot of stress out of your life.

• Rainy days will come. When you start putting money aside into an emergency savings account, you’re preparing for anything that may pop up, such as a car accident, where you may have to pay a $500 deductible. Having some savings means you don’t need to use your credit card or take out yet another loan. “Saving money is a bulwark against catastrophe,” says Buttell. “Something always happens. Spending every dime means you’re always on the financial edge when something bad happens.”

Once the emergency fund reaches a certain point, you’ll see that saving works, and because you’re now in the habit, you can continue saving for something fun, such as a vacation, a wedding or even a new home.

Three tips for saving

1. Save even when you don’t have much to spare.

Buttell says that it doesn’t matter how much money you start putting aside—it’s the act of putting something aside that helps you get into the savings habit. Whether you call it an emergency fund or just a savings account, the whole idea is to help you get used to setting aside $10 or $20 a week, if you can. If even that is too much, $20 or $30 a month is better than nothing.

2. Have the money automatically rerouted into a separate account.

Instead of physically moving the money into a savings account, Buttell suggests that you “set up a payroll savings account, if that’s possible, to have the money deducted from your paycheck. If that’s not possible, have your bank or credit union do it.” Just as we arrange to have bills automatically paid from an account, we can arrange for automatic savings withdrawals. “Sitting in the checking account, [the money is] going to be spent,” Buttell says. Also, she points out, if the money is automatically rerouted, “it gets a little rewarding when you check your [savings] account online or you check your bank statement and you can see, gradually, over time, that account accumulate into something.”

3. Don’t try too much too fast.

When starting a new phase in life, it’s easy to get overly enthusiastic and maybe try a bit too hard. Just like joining a gym and burning out because you go too often and do too much, trying to do too much with your money too quickly may get discouraging. “When people are on very tight budgets and try to do too much, they’re going to end up giving up and it’s not going to work,” Buttell explains. So, set a realistic goal of how much you will save. You can always increase the amount of money you set aside, but it’s harder to decrease it without being left with the feeling that you’ve gone backwards.

What about paying off loans?

Paying off your student loans and other debts is important, but there isn’t a lot that is satisfying about paying off loans while you’re doing it. By setting up a small savings account on the side, you can see what you’re saving, and this can be very satisfying. If you save $100 a month for two years, that’s almost $2,500. Not too shabby for money you’re not touching.

Bite-size tips for saving money

• When you’ve saved enough to open a certificate of deposit (CD), get one. The money stays yours, but you can’t spend it on the spur of the moment. It also gains a bit of interest while it’s in the CD.

• Consider using an online bank, like ING, for your savings. When your money goes into an online bank, it takes a few days to get it back into your brick-and-mortar bank. Therefore, you may think twice before withdrawing the money.

• If you’re using your regular bank for the savings, don’t allow the staff to connect that account with your bank card or allow checking privileges. You need to make the money as inaccessible as possible.

• Set goals. If you’ve already built an emergency fund, set goals for your money. When your bank account gets to your first goal, treat yourself to something as a reward.

• Play mind games with yourself. I know of one nurse who would take an extra $20 from the ATM whenever she withdrew money. That extra cash would go into an envelope in her filing cabinet, and by December, she had plenty of money to do her Christmas shopping and pay for everything in cash.

Do you have any special saving tricks?

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Sure, all nurses have had some bad days on the job that they’d like to forget, but they’ve also had days that they will remember for the rest of their careers—and their lives. We asked our Facebook fans which day they would choose if they could time-travel to any previous day on the job. Check out their heartfelt, touching responses below.

The day I was working at WMH as a unit coordinator awaiting my board results when—TA-DA!!! My “boss” showed me my license! I HAD PASSED!
—Patty Ann McGee

The first patient I had who coded on me…I was a newer nurse and was too scared of the doctor to argue with him, even though I knew exactly what the patient needed. I ended up calling a rapid response on him, and the ICU doc who came over for that ordered the med I knew the patient needed, but by then it was too late. He coded shortly after I called the rapid response and we lost him. Lesson learned: Sometimes you gotta be tough as nails to be a good patient advocate.
—Meg Freeman

I would go back to the early days when I was a nurse’s aide and worked on the same med/surg floor as my mama, who was a nurse. She has been gone six years now and I still miss her every day. She taught me more about compassion, respect and work ethics than I ever learned in school. Thank you Mama.
—Marcy Honea Fussell

I was working as an agency nurse on a med-surg floor one winter day when I had the privilege of caring for a frail, elderly gentleman who was losing his sight to macular degeneration. He was a very soft-spoken, polite man who always said thank you, and was one of those patients that you know to keep an extra eye on because he would never ask for anything, even if he needed it. I had set him up to eat his lunch, and while I was making rounds on my other patients, it started to snow. When I went back to check on this gentleman, he was just looking out the window with the most peaceful look on his face. When I asked if he wanted to get back to bed to rest, he said no and that he had always loved to watch the snow fall, even when he was a little boy. That moment has always stuck with me. This gentleman was slowly losing his sight, but instead of being angry and mournful, he just continued to cherish the joy his sight still gave him. The memory of the peace and joy on his face brings a smile to my face every time I think about it.
—Cathy Barkate Anderson

I would go back maybe before DRGs or just after (about 1986). Units had staff but were not based on acuity. Many nurses stayed on their units for years. We had busy days and some down times when we could discuss cases and really get to know each other. We were better teams then, I think…I miss those days.
—Connie McCarty Louden

I have been a Neonatal ICU nurse for 30 years, and I would go back to any day where I got to place a tiny, sick infant in a mom’s arms—who has been waiting for weeks to feel that miracle, always wondering if her baby would survive long enough for her to ever get that chance—for the first time. It still brings me to tears of joy and a feeling of honor to be allowed to share that precious moment.
—Terry Olson

I work in LTC. We had a male hospice patient who was able to get around in a wheelchair. One day, he was in the dining room trying to get coffee. He started to couch violently. Then he started to hemorrhage. He was coughing up copious amounts of blood. We had to get him out of the dining room as quickly as we could while trying to protect the other residents and staff from blood splatter. I remember the look on his face as he looked up at us. It was a look I will never forget. He wasn’t able to speak. His eyes were seeking comfort. And we failed him. We should have prayed with him and comforted him. If I could go back to that day, I would. I would have prayed with him and for him. I would have told him, “It’s okay. Don’t be afraid. God is with you.”
—Sandra Rojas Chamberlain

I would go back to the very first delivery that I witnessed as a student nurse. I felt the emotion, the joy and the power of a miracle wash over me. Many years later, I still love my job as an OB nurse. God leads us to the place that we need to be and I wouldn’t have it any other way!
—Sharon McFarland

If you could time-travel back to any day on the job, which day would you choose and why?

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Blogging is a fairly recent form of social/political/professional communication. By “recent,” I mean since computers and smart phones became an indispensable part of daily life.

Why do nurses blog, anyway?

Most modern nurses use a computer at some point every day, whether at home, work or school. If you follow Scrubs Magazine or any other nursing site, you are aware of the wide scope of issues which nurses face. Online is where nurses can share their many opinions with each other to hopefully improve the profession and also lift their spirits in connecting with their community.

The great peril in speaking up

On any site where comments are invited, including Scrubs, you may notice a login name is required along with perhaps a bit of voluntary information. Know that what you create and share is up to you.

Be warned! You are in a sense putting yourself in great peril by speaking up: to your job, reputation and even your license, because employers, schools, families and law enforcement also look at these sites.

Many nurses choose to keep their true identity anonymous when they choose their usernames. This way you can feel a certain level of safety. You can get things off your chest with fellow nurses without giving away your real identity, as long as you are careful not to be too specific with people and places.

The benefits of staying connected

Nurses blog and join nursing sites because no one else understands better than another nurse!

Most of us gave up trying to share about our workdays with our families and significant others (unless, of course, they ALSO happen to work in healthcare!). They simply will never understand HOW or WHY we keep doing what we love to do!

How many times have we all heard someone else say: “I could NEVER be a nurse!” or, “How CAN you stand to do and see all of this every day?”

Kind of discouraging, isn’t it?

And yet, in spite of everything, there are those among us who DO keep going and doing what we love and feel that we are called to do every day. We need to support each other in this – at work and in our communities whether online or off – because it’s not easy sometimes making this choice.

When you’ve had a rough day, it can make a huge difference when no one around you seems to get it – until the person on the other end of a comment thread does!

Your profession is not simply what brings home your paycheck, your profession is what you were put on earth to do. With such passion and such intensity that it becomes spiritual in calling (Vincent van Gogh).

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While driving home today, I was distracted by the commotion outside my car. Tractor trailers were banging and clanging quickly past me. On the sidewalk, construction workers were shouting to one another. Radios and car horns were invading my quiet space. I was having a hard time concentrating and my mind was racing. Then I realized it: This reminded me of a busy day on a nursing unit!

We’ve all had experiences like these: getting interrupted while calculating medication dosages, being called to the telephone during patient teaching, or hearing a bed alarm and rushing away from talking to a family member about a loved one. And it can get a bit chaotic and stressful!

One way to decrease distraction is through positive affirmations. Stating positive declarations can create greater focus and concentration, and give you a sense of balance. Taking time out each day to sit quietly, breathe and state mantras to yourself can have a deep impact on your happiness, peace of mind and health.

Research has shown that stating mantras has positive effects on stress reduction. In a 2007 study conducted at Duke Medical Center, researchers found significant reductions in stress and negative emotions in participants who used meditation techniques that focused on mantras.

When you do this, you quiet the mind. You create a space that is free from disruption. And then, with practice, you can call upon this state of mind at any point during a busy shift.

Picture this: You have been running all day. Patient after patient needs you. The older gentleman in 312A fell down. Your chronic pain patient in 316B will not lay off the call bell. Any time you think you have five minutes to sit down and chart, another person is calling your name. This has been the longest shift of your life.

Instead of creating more stress, anxiety and disappointment by focusing on the hours ahead, try something different. Take a deep breath and say to yourself: “I have the strength and energy to see this through. I enjoy helping others.” Repeat this until you stand up, ready to give that final medication and discharge that last patient—feeling revitalized and ready to go!

Make time each day, either in the morning or the evening, to quietly state affirmations. Take a slow and deep breath in and out through your nose between each of the affirmations. Become aware of how you feel and start to notice any shifts in energy, mood or stress levels.

Here are some statements I use that can help you get started:

• I am exactly where I need to be as my journey in life reveals itself to me.
• I honor my mind, body and soul and treat each aspect of my being with respect.
• I am a confident, knowledgeable and successful role model as I inspire others to be the same.
• I know great joy and peace and therefore have wonderful energy.
• My speech is a form of love.
• I am limitless in my capacity for joy, healing and happiness.
• I will achieve perfect balance and be successful in all that I take on.

You can add some of your own affirmations as you become comfortable with the process.

Taking the time to sit quietly with your own positive thoughts will greatly affect your life. You’ll create a way to cope with distraction during your busy days. You’ll generate a calmer presence by slowing down and breathing with yourself. You deserve great happiness, peace and love in your life. Make room for yourself!

Elizabeth Scala, MSN/MBA, RN, is a health and wellness coach who owns Living Sublime Wellness, a company that provides holistic coaching for mind, body and spirit. She coaches nurses and caregivers who are stressed, burned out and overwhelmed to make time for self-care and healthy balance in their busy lives. Scala offers a holistic newsletter and supportive monthly calls. Visit livingsublimewellness.com for more details.

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Entire books can (and have!) been written on nursing careers. But one blogger synthesized his into just six words. We asked our Facebook fans to sum up their careers thus far in one brief sentence—read on for their funny, honest and heartfelt responses!

A career of ongoing education.
—Lori Pope

Fed my kids, fed my soul.
—Patrice Wassmann

Tiring!
—Sandra Ochoa

The best thing fate dragged me into!
—Tina Lucky

Wildest ride this side of legal!
—Stephanie Roman Lovell

I’d like to wring my high school guidance counselor’s neck.
—Lori Beiter Halker

What’s in store for me tonight?
—Sandy Hanes Rebeske

What a long, strange trip it’s been.
—Tracy Lee Brenner

I love watching patients get better!
—Carol Hannibal

Love being a nurse, hate always being understaffed.
—Becky Anderson

Won some, lost some, had fun.
—Patricia Mungovan Herbas

Never a dull moment!!! LOVE nursing!!!
—Marcella K. Turner

How would you sum up your entire nursing career in one brief sentence?

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As a sophomore at JHU, double majoring in English and Italian, I took a job helping care for Nathaniel, a six-year-old boy with special needs. I was a devoted humanities student, but also wanted to help people. I had a hunch that I wanted to be a nurse.

Every weekday morning, I arrived at Nathaniel’s home at 6:30 a.m. to help him get ready for school—giving him water and medications through a tube in his tummy, helping him dress and eat, and waiting with him for the school bus. During our routine, I tried to give him space to be independent and be himself, and would report to his mom with delight new words or skills he mastered.

Becoming a part of Nathaniel’s household was a joy. But, even with his sunny disposition, goofy smile, and wild laugh, Nathaniel’s needs could be quite intense, and I marveled at how his family met these needs with grace and love. I learned that it really takes a team of people, such as friends, nurses, teachers, and neighbors, to help a family rise to the challenges a child with special needs can present. As I became a part of Nathaniel’s world, I realized how difficult life must be for families and children without that network.

Through her experience providing care for Nathaniel (right), Emily Hoppe (left) found her calling—to help families help their children.

Through her experience providing care for Nathaniel (right), Emily Hoppe (left) found her calling—to help families help their children.

Mornings with Nathaniel became my favorite part of each day and inspired me to follow my gut. I enrolled in the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing’s traditional bachelor’s program and after one semester was accepted into the Research Honors Program, which matches undergraduates with a faculty mentor to learn about nursing research and complete a research project. I was paired with Deborah Gross, DNSc, RN, professor and Stulman Endowed Chair in Mental Health and Psychiatric Nursing.

Working with her and Joyce Harrison, MD, director of The Johns Hopkins Hospital’s Early Childhood/Preschool Clinic, I helped coordinate a pilot study to examine Dr. Gross’s parent-training program, the Chicago Parent Program, as a treatment for families with children who have a diagnosed mental illness or behavior disorder.

Dr. Harrison and I facilitate the group, using videos and activities to teach parenting principles and tools to help parents manage their children’s behavior while building a strong, positive relationship with their child. The parents also teach one another, problem-solving together and offering ideas and support. I’ve been amazed to witness the changes in parents—the open smiles, changes of voice—as they become more adept at helping their children.
It’s now my second year of nursing school, and sixth year working with Nathaniel and his family. The experience continues to be a touchstone for my perspective on nursing and child mental health.

I’m glad I found a path that helps families help their children. And, I’ve learned one of the pleasures of working in community health—that the difference we can make in the life of a child is also a difference we can make in the life of a family, a community, and a city.

Emily Hoppe is a nursing student at Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing. Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing is a scrubsmag.com partner.

Image credit: Jennifer Bishop

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I’ve always envied those who can flip flop back and forth between day shift and night shift. How do they do it?

I think I’ve nailed down some of their secrets, and in so doing have been able to work both day shifts and night shifts in succession. Happily! Nights are often a more peaceful time in the hospital and it’s definitely a nice change in my routine.

So, need some tips on how to survive the “dark side”?

Surviving the night shift.

Here are steps to jumpstart your circadian rhythm and allow for easier transitions from the normalcy of day shift to the non-so-routine night shift.

(1) If you are strictly a night shift nurse and you are having problems adjusting to the schedule, try a couple weeks of grouping all of the shifts together, three in a row. That way you can completely convert to night owl status for half of the week and then have four days to recover back to normalcy (that being if you indeed do work three 12-hr shifts).

For those who rotate and really cannot stand working three nights a week, ask your scheduling manager if you can split up your weeks into day and nights (be sure to work your days towards the beginning of the week and allow ample time for recovery after night shifts). For example, you would work Monday day shift and Wednesday and Thursday night shifts.

Wake up early on the day of your first night shift and take a nap in the afternoon. This strategy allows you to have a bulk of the morning to get stuff done and having some decent sleep prior to going into the long shift. I have heard people that just sleep in late (until like noon or 1 in the afternoon) crash around 3 or 4am because they have been up for so long.

My technique for the last day is to return home post last night shift, sleep for about four hours, then force yourself to wake up! You’ll be so tired by that night that you will be able to sleep during the night and be back on a somewhat normal day routine by the next morning.

(2) Right before a night shift, eat a substantial dinner prior to going into work (even if it is “breakfast-like”). That will hold you over for hours and give you a boost of energy to get the shift started. Try your best to avoid the comfort foods of night shift and bring a light meal full of protein and complex carbs that will fulfill your midnight munchies.

(3) Exercise! This not only applies to those working normal business hours. It becomes extremely important for those on night shifts because working out allows you to have more energy and creates for more sound sleep. I have friends that exercise after they get off their shift in the morning (I’ve always been too tired for that). If that is your preference, be sure to take time to wind down and drink a warm, non-caffeinated drink prior to going to sleep. I tend to exercise after I wake up – the beauty of that being that as opposed to working out early in the morning like a “normal” shift worker may do, you will be inundated with daylight hours for a nice run, pleasant early evening temperatures, and you will most likely beat the post 6pm rush at the gym. Hitting a wall at 4am? Run the stairs, it will most certainly wake you up

(4) Isolate yourself! Be sure to tell your loved ones, your neighbors, and your kids that just like they don’t like being woken up at 2am, you don’t like to be disturbed during your “night”. Turn your phone off, buy dark curtains that will keep the daylight out of your room, wear an eye mask, lock the dog out of your room, tie up the children (kidding), and for goodness sake don’t drink coffee within four hours of going to sleep. If you “need” coffee to get through the shift, drink it early in the shift and combine water with a stair run later in the shift as an energy boost.

You mind is a powerful tool. Keep in mind all of the positives of night shift. It can be extremely conducive to family life if you are a working parent. The shift differential is an added bonus in the bank account. You typically have more autonomy as a nurse on the night shift and have ample time to develop skills and master your assessments. With the pace of the shift usually being slower, you have more time to develop close relationships with your coworkers because you are relying on each other for second opinions, assistance with tasks, and camaraderie in staying awake when everyone else is snug in their beds.