Overnighters, how long will you do this?

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mentos

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How long do you plan to work the night shift? I've been doing this almost 6 years now and I'm starting to get more tired. I can see myself doing another 4-5 years assuming I'll still have a job. We all know overnight workers have shorter life spans, increased cancer risk etc. I wonder if switching to days soon would make me heathier or if I've already passed the point of no return.

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I've been in the nocturnal trenches for the last 4 years straight and I'd like to do so until my body actually tells me, "We can't do this anymore". In most cases, you'll never have less stress, more time off, and/or more money working dayshift, and something random is bound to end your life eventually anyway. Just do what you can to offset the inherent health risks (intermittent fasting while you work, more veggies and sleep) and enjoy the shift that few people can physically endure and appreciate.
 
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How long do you plan to work the night shift? I've been doing this almost 6 years now and I'm starting to get more tired. I can see myself doing another 4-5 years assuming I'll still have a job. We all know overnight workers have shorter life spans, increased cancer risk etc. I wonder if switching to days soon would make me heathier or if I've already passed the point of no return.

Loved night shift but I could tell it was wearing down my body too. Poorer sleep quality, less discipline/energy to nail my diet/exercise routine which led to poorer health markers (BP up, cholesterol up, TRG up).

I went to days after 1.5 yrs.
 
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PM me for more details...did overnight 5.5 years before my store got the Axe of Damocles for 24 hour status; I'm daytime now (same store).

Been daytime for about 1 year now....I was hesitant/a bit worried at first but can't deny how much better/easier my life is now that I'm daytime. It was a fun experience doing overnights, but I have zero intention of going back to overnights!
 
How long do you plan to work the night shift? I've been doing this almost 6 years now and I'm starting to get more tired. I can see myself doing another 4-5 years assuming I'll still have a job. We all know overnight workers have shorter life spans, increased cancer risk etc. I wonder if switching to days soon would make me heathier or if I've already passed the point of no return.
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Loved night shift but I could tell it was wearing down my body too. Poorer sleep quality, less discipline/energy to nail my diet/exercise routine which led to poorer health markers (BP up, cholesterol up, TRG up).

I went to days after 1.5 yrs.
This is why I think living <10 min from work is crucial. I get home and have time to go to the gym and shoot hoops 3 times a week and keep active. Well, when it isn't a pandemic. I'm going to likely go a few months without shooting a basket for the first time since I was like 4 years old or something unless the indoor courts open back up soon, which they won't. I fear for my shot.
 
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This is why I think living <10 min from work is crucial. I get home and have time to go to the gym and shoot hoops 3 times a week and keep active. Well, when it isn't a pandemic. I'm going to likely go a few months without shooting a basket for the first time since I was like 4 years old or something unless the indoor courts open back up soon, which they won't. I fear for my shot.
Agreed, live within walking distance...saved so much time and money on auto/transportation expense
 
This is why I think living <10 min from work is crucial. I get home and have time to go to the gym and shoot hoops 3 times a week and keep active. Well, when it isn't a pandemic. I'm going to likely go a few months without shooting a basket for the first time since I was like 4 years old or something unless the indoor courts open back up soon, which they won't. I fear for my shot.

Ah, I am 45 mins away no traffic from work. Getting home can be a bitch in the morning.
 
I like working overnights but also don’t want to do things that are considered carcinogenic if I don’t have to
 
PM me for more details...did overnight 5.5 years before my store got the Axe of Damocles for 24 hour status; I'm daytime now (same store).

Been daytime for about 1 year now....I was hesitant/a bit worried at first but can't deny how much better/easier my life is now that I'm daytime. It was a fun experience doing overnights, but I have zero intention of going back to overnights!

I think the hardest thing to give up would be the 7on7off schedule. The rotating day schedule sucks. How do you plan stuff when you go from first shift to second shift all the time? Would be hard to coordinate with our nanny.

I also hate gossip and drama so nightshift is perfect to avoid that.
 
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I did it for 3 years, inpatient hospital.
In hindsight, it was the easiest and best job I ever had. 7 10s, getting paid the full 80 hour salary.
It's not conductive for family life. But man was it great from age 24-27.
 
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I did 5 yrs stint.

Graveyard is meh. There used to be an incentive doing it since you could pick up more shifts during your day off. Now, there isn't any extra shifts to pick up when you are bored during your 7 off.
 
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I did 5 yrs stint.

Graveyard is meh. There used to be an incentive doing it since you could pick up more shifts during your day off. Now, there isn't any extra shifts to pick up when you are bored during your 7 off.

Could try to get a per diem.

I can't imagine being bored on my 7 days off though.
 
I think the hardest thing to give up would be the 7on7off schedule. The rotating day schedule sucks. How do you plan stuff when you go from first shift to second shift all the time? Would be hard to coordinate with our nanny.

I also hate gossip and drama so nightshift is perfect to avoid that.
I've got it pretty sweet right now being "the closer"/same time of day shift (Except I'm the opener one day in 2 week rotating schedule...I usually talk my way into switching because no one wants to close). Sure, I get a ton of the BS work...state counts, Script Pro maintenance, RTSs, etc.
 
I've got it pretty sweet right now being "the closer"/same time of day shift (Except I'm the opener one day in 2 week rotating schedule...I usually talk my way into switching because no one wants to close). Sure, I get a ton of the BS work...state counts, Script Pro maintenance, RTSs, etc.

I hate closing too. I feel like you can't really do anything during the day cause you're just waiting for your shift to start. Then you don't get to have dinner with your family. My wife works a regular 9-5. At least with nightshift, I see my family before going to work.
 
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Do it for another 5 years, invest and save a ton of $$$, then work on your own term (semi retire--working 2 days shift/week)
 
I am hoping to continue nights till I retire- either voluntarily in the next couple of years or involuntarily (place goes belly up). At this point, could go either way... Having worked essentially 14 hour days for 16 years in retail this is almost heaven.
 
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For a couple of years as a floater I was switching between overnight and day shifts every few months or sometimes even more frequently. It was awful. I don't think I still ever completely recovered from it. Luckily they haven't been forcing that on me lately, fingers crossed...
 
I am hoping to continue nights till I retire- either voluntarily in the next couple of years or involuntarily (place goes belly up). At this point, could go either way... Having worked essentially 14 hour days for 16 years in retail this is almost heaven.

How long have you been doing nights?

For a couple of years as a floater I was switching between overnight and day shifts every few months or sometimes even more frequently. It was awful. I don't think I still ever completely recovered from it. Luckily they haven't been forcing that on me lately, fingers crossed...

Switching back and forth between days and nights will kill you. Once you're the dedicated overnight staff then it's not so bad.
 
Switching back and forth between days and nights will kill you. Once you're the dedicated overnight staff then it's not so bad.

I know. :/ Luckily there's only one store in my area that does overnights now. There used to be 3, so there's less overnight coverage needed now.

I did have a couple of opportunities to apply for overnight positions but I didn't like the idea of basically becoming a vampire.
 
I worked night shift for two years inpatient setting. Once student loans were paid off I transitioned to evenings
 
these shifts are all midnight to 8 am ?

It varies. I've seen anywhere from 7pm-8am.

I've done 7pm-7am, 8pm-8am, 10pm-7:30am etc. Just depends on your store/pharmacy and scheduler.
 
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For a couple of years as a floater I was switching between overnight and day shifts every few months or sometimes even more frequently. It was awful. I don't think I still ever completely recovered from it. Luckily they haven't been forcing that on me lately, fingers crossed...
I did nights but couldnt do it more than 1.5 years, I ballooned to 300+ lbs and would keep randomly waking up after 4 hours of sleep with a voracious appetite unable to get back to sleep even with melatonin + benadryl.

After I went back to days, I dropped 70ish pounds and realized how tired i actually was when I was able to return to a regular sleep schedule.
 
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I did nights but couldnt do it more than 1.5 years, I ballooned to 300+ lbs and would keep randomly waking up after 4 hours of sleep with a voracious appetite unable to get back to sleep even with melatonin + benadryl.

After I went back to days, I dropped 70ish pounds and realized how tired i actually was when I was able to return to a regular sleep schedule.

Damn, dude. It never hit me that hard, but I've found that regular gym sessions with heavy compound lifting helped boost my energy levels. But with Covid I haven't been to the gym in over 9 months...
 
Wow. I've been the same weight for like 15 years.
 
I am probably going to do it until my child starts school - so another 4 years - then will have to work with wife's employer to see if we can work something out since we don't have family to provide care if we both are working late
 
It required a lot of discipline - having the energy to workout after a shift, or conserving enough energy after a workout so you don’t fall flat mid-shift, was always a struggle. My legs would feel 10lbs heavier running on a track the morning after night shift. HIIT classes just weren’t fun anymore.

Same with food, so easy to eat like crap, or hit the drive thru on the way home. Meal prep was essential.

Before I got my banker’s hours/weekends and holidays off gig, I’d have preferred 7o/7o nights to mixed days (especially evening shifts, hated those). What you give up with night shift, you get back in stability in schedule (you could literally plan years ahead — management always greenlit PTO because, well, you’re the night shift person).

So to answer the OP’s question, had I not gotten a stable day shift position, I’d have done nights forever.
 
I think my other favorite part about nights was having the same RN crew and far fewer physicians to keep tabs on. Made relationship building easier. Sometimes, I would forward the pharmacy main line to a portable phone and walk the floors/chit chat with the night staff.

If something needed an urgent verification, I could hop on a computer on the floor or just override it out of the ADC and hand it to the RN.

There were 6 of us about the same age and we would all take the same HIIT class together after work, it was nice not having to compare stats with someone from the land of the living.
 
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This is why I think living <10 min from work is crucial. I get home and have time to go to the gym and shoot hoops 3 times a week and keep active. Well, when it isn't a pandemic. I'm going to likely go a few months without shooting a basket for the first time since I was like 4 years old or something unless the indoor courts open back up soon, which they won't. I fear for my shot.
You and I both know that shooters shoot, no matter what. Never worry about a shot you have not taken. It is not a perishable skill. That being said, I haven't balled in 4 years and my shots aren't what I'm worried about when I get back on the court lol
 
How long have you been doing nights?
About 5 years now...give or take. Ever since I left retail. I would be in the nuthouse (or jail) by now had I stayed there.


 
Actually, I see my wife more than I did when I worked day work in retail. I would come home from approx a 14 hour day, go right to bed, then get up in the am often to repeat the same thing unless I was off the next day. Now we can have breakfast/ dinner together and I'm not rushing out the door. So it all depends....
 
Actually, I see my wife more than I did when I worked day work in retail. I would come home from approx a 14 hour day, go right to bed, then get up in the am often to repeat the same thing unless I was off the next day. Now we can have breakfast/ dinner together and I'm not rushing out the door. So it all depends....

Yeah especially on our weeks off. My wife sees me 24/7 except when she's at work. By the time my week off is over, she's sick of me LoL.
 
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I'm going to start applying for day shift positions just to see what's out there. If I can find a place with no weekends or holidays, I would prefer that over 7on7off. I'm getting tired of working every other weekend.

Should I put overnight pharmacist as my position on my resume? Or should I just say I'm a pharmacist?
 
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I'm going to start applying for day shift positions just to see what's out there. If I can find a place with no weekends or holidays, I would prefer that over 7on7off. I'm getting tired of working every other weekend.

Should I put overnight pharmacist as my position on my resume? Or should I just say I'm a pharmacist?
*gasp*

As it turns out, I'm reverting back to being a vampire RPh
 
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I'm going to start applying for day shift positions just to see what's out there. If I can find a place with no weekends or holidays, I would prefer that over 7on7off. I'm getting tired of working every other weekend.

Should I put overnight pharmacist as my position on my resume? Or should I just say I'm a pharmacist?
A day shift with no weekends or holidays sounds like a unicorn job to me!

I would just list pharmacist on there. If you're planning on leaving nights anyway i don't think having that on your resume would necessarily help you get what you're looking for
 
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I'm going to start applying for day shift positions just to see what's out there. If I can find a place with no weekends or holidays, I would prefer that over 7on7off. I'm getting tired of working every other weekend.

Should I put overnight pharmacist as my position on my resume? Or should I just say I'm a pharmacist?
I would not list "overnight pharmacist" unless that is literally the job code per HR.

Honestly, any hiring manager will eventually figure out you work nights, and this doesn't have to be a bad thing if you work inpatient. The main thing I would want to know is whether you can play nice with others when you're not the only pharmacist making decisions anymore.
 
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I would not list "overnight pharmacist" unless that is literally the job code per HR.

Honestly, any hiring manager will eventually figure out you work nights, and this doesn't have to be a bad thing if you work inpatient. The main thing I would want to know is whether you can play nice with others when you're not the only pharmacist making decisions anymore.
Overnight experience can be tricky figuring someone out...on one hand said person can be extremely good, knowledgeable, overall versatile in performing a plethora of conventional and odd jobs in pharmacy. On the other hand, said overnight could get away with being a one trick pony.

The whole ability to play nice with others is always something to consider....depends on overlap (seems less common) and communication skills with relaying stuff to daytime/management
 
Overnight experience can be tricky figuring someone out...on one hand said person can be extremely good, knowledgeable, overall versatile in performing a plethora of conventional and odd jobs in pharmacy. On the other hand, said overnight could get away with being a one trick pony.

The whole ability to play nice with others is always something to consider....depends on overlap (seems less common) and communication skills with relaying stuff to daytime/management

Yeah, I wouldn't want to work day shift full-time because of the whole dealing with 5 others RPhs problem.

Breaks are no problem overnight, you can eat at the workstation, take a few extra minutes nap, pull out your phone and play some games, no one cares. In the day shift the mofos are watching how long you spend in the bathroom.
 
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I'm only 3 months into overnight 7 on 7 off gigs (coming from 3 years of retail circus) so I will be doing this for at least couple of years for sure. So far I love everything since there are no dramas or politics overnight. Its just me and a pharm tech running the show.. we usually have 2nd shift rph staying until midnight but last week was kind of **** show since they couldn't find a coverage. Our hospital beds are full, increased COVID admission.. but still the busiest day in hospital is better than any day in retail. I have no regret whatsoever lol
 
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