Evening and Night Shift Opportunities

[BLADEMDA]

I knew a place that hired a pair of guys to cover L&D nights. They'd each do a Mon-Thr night, a Saturday day, then be off the following week. It's not a job I would recommend someone take right out of residency, but it's an example of nearly exclusive night work in anesthesia.

I think you need a few years real world experience doing cases/supervising before doing a night float. I wouldn't hire a new grad for the position, even a well trained new grad from MGH or Stanford or Duke. Even those people need a few years to "fine tune" their skills.

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[deleted1147063]

I think you need a few years real world experience doing cases/supervising before doing a night float. I wouldn't hire a new grad for the position, even a well trained new grad from MGH or Stanford or Duke. Even those people need a few years to "fine tune" their skills.

Especially those people. The problem with the big places is that they don't train well enough for bread and butter cases, and simple elegant solutions. There is a lot of academic dogma that needs to be shed.

 

[BLADEMDA]

.

Especially those people. The problem with the big places is that they don't train well enough for bread and butter cases, and simple elegant solutions. There is a lot of academic dogma that needs to be shed.

I remember coming out of residency from a top 5 program to a private practice. There were many things I learned during my first 2 years out that were invaluable to my skill set and approach to doing cases. I became a better clinical practitioner during those 2 years by doing cases in the real world.

 

[patriot6]

I remember coming out of residency from a top 5 program to a private practice. There were many things I learned during my first 2 years out that were invaluable to my skill set and approach to doing cases. I became a better clinical practitioner during those 2 years by doing cases in the real world.

I'm only 2.5 years out. I think 2 years was my break point. I'm so much more comfortable now. I agree with other posters that a night time position is a bad idea straight out of training. I really valued having a lot of senior people around during daylight hours.

 

[chocomorsel]

I really hope you are not my colleague after residency. I just asked a simple question about opportunities for evening and night work, yet I'm being berated for not taking people's advice for nights. I am considering everyone's advice, but I don't appreciate you saying I only want to hear what I want to hear or pursuing another field entirely. That's extremely inconsiderate about my career aspirations when I stated I'm already pursuing the field, and false that I'm not listening. I asked a question about job opportunities, and now this thread is devolving into me being someone not willing to listen. Geez, SDN is toxic. A simple no, these opportunities are not available would've sufficed.

Develop tough skin if you want to be on SDN. Especially on our forum.
We are world class porcupines!
But I do agree with you about people making assumptions about your personal life. They act like they have a clue about people IRL when they don’t which bristles my porcupine thorns!!

 

[deleted875186]

In my area, there are per diem and locum opportunities for night and call shifts. Some of these people end up doing them indefinitely. You don’t get benefits, but can make a fairly good rate for your time. I knew of one anesthesiologist at one of the big hospitals that essentially worked their call schedule so they did several night calls per week and was off the rest of the week, just preferred to work nights I suppose, I remember he/she telling me that they thought the cases were more interesting at night as well as opposed to scheduled cases during the day. I think if you worked for a big medical center you could take more call and structure your schedule, I don’t see why anyone would object to it.

 

[nimbus]

I knew a place that hired a pair of guys to cover L&D nights. They'd each do a Mon-Thr night, a Saturday day, then be off the following week. It's not a job I would recommend someone take right out of residency, but it's an example of nearly exclusive night work in anesthesia.

Until recently, our L&D nights were covered by 3 guys. One guy took almost half the nights. The other 2 each took about a quarter. The remaining few nights were taken by various people. The thing is the 3 main people also had full-time jobs. The one who took half the nights has a “light” full time gig at a surgery center and the remaining 2 work at busy hospitals.

 

[xtina0]

I just left my night shift job it was 2(24's) with a Crna. That model obliterated me , my whole circadian rhythm was thrown off. I used to think I was a night owl or that I can sleep easily after a shift but my body honestly started rejecting sleep and the year aged me. Even if you wake up 2-3 x in the night for some BS its still interrupted sleep and your still on standby mode. I can't speak for other modes of night shifts eg. 1 week on 1 week off - or 12's ( 7p-7a) but this was my perspective

 

[dannyboy1]

Working at night sucks no matter how you cut it. The only good model is to be paid to sleep

 

[chocomorsel]

I just left my night shift job it was 2(24's) with a Crna. That model obliterated me , my whole circadian rhythm was thrown off. I used to think I was a night owl or that I can sleep easily after a shift but my body honestly started rejecting sleep and the year aged me. Even if you wake up 2-3 x in the night for some BS its still interrupted sleep and your still on standby mode. I can't speak for other modes of night shifts eg. 1 week on 1 week off - or 12's ( 7p-7a) but this was my perspective

24 hour calls are not complete night shift hours. This makes no sense.

 

[chocomorsel]

In my area, there are per diem and locum opportunities for night and call shifts. Some of these people end up doing them indefinitely. You don’t get benefits, but can make a fairly good rate for your time. I knew of one anesthesiologist at one of the big hospitals that essentially worked their call schedule so they did several night calls per week and was off the rest of the week, just preferred to work nights I suppose, I remember he/she telling me that they thought the cases were more interesting at night as well as opposed to scheduled cases during the day. I think if you worked for a big medical center you could take more call and structure your schedule, I don’t see why anyone would object to it.

If only I had no difficulty sleeping in the day!
I am no longer in my 20s or 30s. Gotta take meds to sleep in the day.

 

[Dr. Rude]

If only I had no difficulty sleeping in the day!
I am no longer in my 20s or 30s. Gotta take meds to sleep in the day.

A post call morning screwdriver or glass of white wine got it done for me when I was working nights.

 

[chocomorsel]

A post call morning screwdriver or glass of white wine got it done for me when I was working nights.

That only works for a few hours. Then you wake up at 1 pm and can’t go back to sleep after peeing.

 

[deleted875186]

That only works for a few hours. Then you wake up at 1 pm and can’t go back to sleep after peeing.

Alcohol is a depressant, but several hours later is activating, always bad to drink before goin got sleep.

 

[chocomorsel]

Alcohol is a depressant, but several hours later is activating, always bad to drink before goin got sleep.

Exactly. So unless you drink to the point of losing consciousness, it does not keep you asleep for long.

 

[gasresident1]

How are you going to survive 4 years of residency brah? You need to be up every day at 5/5:30?

 

[chocomorsel]

How are you going to survive 4 years of residency brah? You need to be up every day at 5/5:30?

Or earlier in some rotations.

 

[IMGASMD]

How are you going to survive 4 years of residency brah? You need to be up every day at 5/5:30?

Dude. Only answer the question as I asked. Why you gotta bring up residency. I only care when I am an attending, the next four years and my life goal is totally irrelevant…. TMI.

 

[PpfSuxTube]

That's not really the case. I'm naturally wired to be a night owl chronotype. Research has shown that humans are hard wired this way and is genetic in nature. Despite all of the "sleep hygiene" tips, it's not as simple as just "learning" to get up earlier when I was born like this. I was just asking if there are jobs out there the week accommodate this, even if it's rare or uncommon.

Is that true?
My wife always claimed and lived the night owl life. Until we had a kid. That was the end of that...

 

[nimbus]

Is that true?
My wife always claimed and lived the night owl life. Until we had a kid. That was the end of that...

She’ll go back when the kid is off to college.