Do you ever really get used to working the night shift full-time? 

Most jobs have pretty simple schedules. You go in during the morning, leave in the evening, sleep, and come back the following day to do it all over again. Nursing is not most jobs. When you’re a nurse, you could be working the night shift one day and working the day shift another day. It truly does a number on your circadian rhythm, but it is nice because you don’t have to work five days a week. A lot of nurses would rather work three night shifts a week if it means they only have to work for three days a week.

Once you get a big girl job, you’d think you’d have a more consistent schedule, going in the same time every week and getting used to the admittedly strange hours you need to work. If you’re a nurse, you know that theory does not work in practice. It feels like you’re working more than you’re not working, and waiting for the dreaded bi-weekly schedule makes you feel like you’re still a waitress at a restaurant. It’s not fair if you’re always the one who has to work the undesirable shifts, while your coworkers can work whenever they want because they have kids and you don’t! Once you’re further along in your career, you have more say over when you can work. You might work more regular hours if you work in a doctor’s office instead of working bedside at a hospital. But having the option to have an unusual schedule is what makes nursing great! Many nurses want to work nights and weekends because it lets them take care of their kids during the day. Other nurses try the night shift for a year and realize that they were not cut out to be awake at 4 in the morning. If you or someone you love has fallen victim to the night shift, you may be entitled to financial compensation. That, or you might enjoy the following nurse memes.