The pros and cons of working as a day shift vs. night shift nurse might seem obvious, but this topic has more nuance than you may think. And depending on the life stage you’re in, the specialty you want, and your scheduling preferences, you’ll likely prefer one over the other. To help you decide between night shift vs. day shift, here’s an overview of nurse scheduling and a list of the top pros and cons for both.
There’s more to the nurse scheduling conversation than being a night shift vs. day shift nurse. Nurses work several different types of shifts depending on the setting, facility, and their own preferences:
- 12-hour shifts: Commonly 7a–7p on day shift, and 7p–7a on nights, although variations include 11a–11p and others. These are common on inpatient units, such as med-surg and critical care, where patients need 24/7 monitoring.
- 10-hour shifts: Commonly 7a–5p or earlier, but they can also run on an evening or night shift schedule. 10-hour shifts are more common in procedural areas, like the post-anaesthesia care unit (PACU) and the operating room (OR), where patients are discharged or transferred after care.
- 8-hour shifts: Commonly 9a–5p on day shifts, and they may also cover evenings and nights as well. 8-hour shifts are more common in outpatient settings, which tend to run on office schedules.
- Rotating/alternating: Some clinical areas shift schedules by the month or week. For example, 3 12s followed by 4 days off, then 4 12s followed by 3 days off. Some units alternate night and day shifts as well.
Day Shift vs. Night Shift Comparison Table
Wondering which shift type is for you? We’ve laid out the major benefits for day shift and night shift in the table below:
| Feature | Day Shift | Night Shift |
|---|---|---|
| Work/life balance | Better: Most 12-hour shift workers have 3 days on and 4 off per week. | Worse: You may need more recovery time and have a lack of sync with most other people’s schedules. |
| Pay | Average: You’ll receive normal base pay, without an added differential. | Higher: Shift differential means higher hourly pay. |
| Learning opportunities | More: You’ll see more procedures, care plan decisions, and providers. | Fewer: Patients are mostly asleep, and fewer tasks are being performed. |
| Pacing | Faster: More tasks, decisions, and opportunities to give education. | Slower: The goal is patient rest and maintaining health status. |
| Staffing | Average: Staffing levels are typically at normal levels. | Worse: Lower staffing overnight may mean less support if something goes wrong. |
| Health issues | Average: You may walk more and assist with more patient procedures and moves. | Worse: Night shift is associated with negative health outcomes due to lack of nighttime sleep. |
Day Shift Pros and Cons
If you’re considering a role working the day shift vs. night shift as a nurse, here are some potential day shift benefits and drawbacks to keep in mind:
Benefits
1. Common Schedule
Day shift allows for a far more “normal” routine — you’re sleeping when most other people are, and you’re awake when most others are as well. You’ll probably spend less time recovering from shifts, and you’ll have a more similar schedule to friends and family. This may allow for a healthier work-life balance.
2. Learning Opportunities
Big decisions are mostly made during the day. Treatment plan changes, discharges, new medication orders, and procedures are generally performed on the day shift, when physicians round and more staff are present. This means you’ll get the opportunity to see more, and potentially learn more quickly.
3. Staffing
There are generally more experienced nurses, techs, medical personnel, and other staff on the day shift, which means you’re likely to have more support. If you call a code, you’ll have many other people there to help. This can give peace of mind, especially if you’re a new nurse or have less experience in your speciality.
4. More Social
If you’re looking to connect more with your patients and other staff, you might want to consider working days. Patients are generally awake, you’ll have more opportunities for education, and you’ll be around more staff.
Drawbacks
1. Busier/More Tasks
If you’re planning to work days, you can expect a heavier workload, despite typically having fewer patients than night shift nurses. Days are busier — care plans are changing, family is visiting, patients may go in for surgery or get discharged — and all of this means there’s more for nurses to manage.
2. Stress
Managing more tasks can mean higher stress on the day shift, and it may be difficult to manage your time and get everything done. Day shift nurses also experience more physical strain because they tend to walk more and sit less than night shift nurses. They may also need to move patients more, assist with more procedures, and perform more interventions.
3. Commuting
Day shift nurses commute with the regular flow of traffic, so their drives may be longer. You may need to budget more driving time and gas money if you work days.
4. Lack of Shift Differential
Excluding weekends and holidays, day shift nurses don’t get a shift differential. This typically means less pay than if you worked the night shift in the same role.
Night Shift Pros and Cons
There are a lot of reasons to like and dislike the night shift, and we’ve broken down the top factors below. For a deeper dive on this topic, see our article covering the pros and cons of night shift nursing.
Benefits
1. Shift Differential Pay
When you work nights, facilities tend to pay an additional amount on top of your hourly wage. This shift differential is calculated either in a flat dollar amount or a percentage of your base pay. So if your priority is earning more as a nurse, the night shift might be a great way to do so.
2. Typically Less Busy
During night shift, patients are typically resting, physicians aren’t rounding, and fewer staff are around. This means that the average night shift is typically less busy than the average day shift. There are obvious exceptions to this rule: Patients can code, you’ll have longer med passes than usual, etc., so take this with a grain of salt.
3. Easier to Find Roles
Some research shows that night shift turnover is nearly double that of the day shift. This means that if you have less experience or you’re returning to a nursing career, it may be easier to find roles on nights. However, this is heavily dependent on the openings at facilities near you.
Drawbacks
1. Health Issues
Working nights means flipping your sleep schedule, and this is associated with several detrimental health effects. Night work disrupts circadian rhythm, impairs sleep, and is associated with lower psychological well-being. It may also impair decision-making competence. With the cafeteria at most facilities closed, it can also be hard to make healthy food choices on night shift.
2. Uncommon Schedule
After a night shift, you’ll spend part of the next day recovering. That’s time that you miss being with friends and family. Special gatherings like dinners and parties happen at night, and you’ll miss some of those as well. Night shift can put a strain on personal relationships, potentially leading to feelings of isolation.
3. Staffing
Another factor to consider when determining day shift vs. night shift is that staffing ratios are typically different. Units are staffed with fewer nurses and support workers on nights, which can lead to stressful work environments when the unit is busy. Insufficient staffing is associated with job dissatisfaction and burnout. Plus, night shifts may be more commonly staffed with new grads, so you may have fewer experienced nurses to lean on.
4. Fewer Learning Opportunities
Unless it’s an emergency, fewer procedures happen at night, so you may not get the breadth of experience that day shift nurses do. You might feel like you have less decision-making and advocacy power than your day shift counterparts. For these reasons, some advanced practice degree programs recommend day shift experience to apply.
Day Shift vs. Night Shift: It’s Up to You
Want to find out about opportunities near you? Credenza can help you find roles for day or night shifts with personalized job notifications attuned to your speciality and location preferences. Learn more today.