10 things only night shift nurses understand

Shutterstock | Khakimullin Aleksandr

Eating a burger at 7 AM. Constantly being woken up by lawn mowers, the phone and ice cream trucks on your days off. Patients who are NOT sleeping. Night shift nurses, we feel your pain!

We asked our night shift Facebook fans for the little things about life on the job that only their fellow NOC nurses would “get”…how much of this list sounds familiar to you?!

1. Our ability to eat pizza or chili at 0800…LOL!
—Crystal G.

2. Knowing which docs you reallllly don’t want to wake up at 3 AM.
—Lissa S.

3. I would really like to tell the day shift that the next time they call me at 2 PM to ask if I can work next weekend because someone is off, then I am going to call them at 2 AM and ask them the same thing! LOL!
—Alexis F.

4. Sleep?! Neither the patients nor I know what that is…call light, call light, call light, now is it time to go home?!!
—Melissa V.

5. The ever-eventful sundowners…how the sweetest lady in the morning can turn into the exorcist once 2 AM hits…
—Vivaca R.

6. Coming into work with a full ER lobby and leaving the day shift with it completely empty.
—Samuel J.

7. The crappy cafeteria food on nights. Chicken fingers are like a 5-star cuisine!
—Beth A.

8. In peds, playing Santa or the Easter Bunny or the tooth fairy.
—Evelyn H.

9. What I have always called the “mole eyes” you experience walking out into the bright morning sun (worse in the winter with the snow) after working in dim to dark lighting.
—Sonya H.

10. Drinking at 8 AM! Great teamwork due to poor staffing. Morning giggles.
—Meredith D.

NOC nurses, what would you add?