Did night shift LTC for about 10 years during the twilight of my career. Retired now <sigh>. Been trying to get myself to pen a long, smartass, tongue in cheek retrospective to my illustrious career, but I'm waiting for the PTSD to die down first. Keep in mind that looking back on my career, I HIGHLY regret ever having done pharmacy. It sucks as you probably know. So don't expect sunshine and rainbows. That being said, I can give you some minimally useful info on night shift. I also did it to get out of retail, and in that respect it worked. It's all the excuse you need to make the move IMO. So with that said....
Anyway, night shift was probably what allowed me to last 10 more years in this sh*tshow profession. I'll list the pros first. Few co-workers. Usually no management. No dealing with the public (assuming LTC). Generally a lesser pace than day shift. You definitely have an instant bond with other night staff at the facillties you service (LTC) as you are "all in this mess together". It's a good excuse for getting out of family events you don't want to attend.
Cons that come to mind. Night shift is always looked down upon by day shift as "doing less". This opinion extends to management and owners too, which comes up if ever expecting a raise. Hard to call off sick as there is usually no one to replace you. And don't EVER expect any of the accolades given to day shift. As a member of the night shift you will ALWAYS be an outsider. Learn to embrace it. Also, you're only as functional as your fellow co-workers (typically delivery drivers and techs), and- let me tell you- you can get some REAL winners applying to night shift which can make your life hell. In LTC, during night shift you'll be dealing mostly with "wet behind the ears prescribers" (mostly PAs and NPs since they usually get relegated to nights). Expect to spend a lot of time explaining and/ or outright arguing about stupid things that just might kill patients if ignored. "Paxlovid? Drug interactions? I've never heard of that...." Also, the shift DEFINITELY does take a toll on your health as there is nothing natural whatsoever about working nights unless you identify as undead. 10 years was my limit. BP and overall health improved drastically when I quit. Still working on the mental health side of things- it's hard to repress some of the **** I endured and/ or witnessed. Yikes.
That's all that comes to mind. If you have any specific questions I'll happily answer them. Keep in mind both of the LTC providers I worked for were independents, which come with their own unique set of problems, such as always being on the verge of going out of business. May be better to work for a chain, but I'm sure that has its own issues. X.
