Monday Musing 3/27/23-off-shift worker, PhD student

To me off shift does not mean end of shift.

It means that I work a shift off of day shift.

In my 22 years as a nurse, I have worked 0630-1500, 5 days a week.

I have worked 0630-1700, 4 days a week.

I have worked 0630-1900, 3 days a week.

I have worked 0900-2130, 3 days a week.

I have worked 1030-2300, 3 days a week.

I have worked 1430-2300, 5 days a week.

I have worked 2300-0700. Both on-call as a nurse, and as a CNA in a nursing home.

I have been on call for any combination imaginable in 24 hours. And there are lots.

When I was in school at Creighton, I worked evenings, 1400-2300, in a clothing store.

When I was in school at Napa Valley College, I worked as a CNA in the hospital, I worked 1430-2300.

When I was getting my BSN at Creighton, I worked 1430-2300 as the evening charge nurse. Plus call 75% of the night/weekend call.

When I was getting my MSN at Queens, I worked 1430-2300 as the evening charge nurse. Plus call 99% of the night/weekend call.

Now I work exclusively 2100-0700 as a call nurse.

This is what I mean by off-shifter.

Can I claim strictly nights? Eh, not really.

The vast majority of my working life, both in and out of school has been evenings.

It is difficult to explain to my cohort that I work nights.

And when I want to engage with them via text or email they are asleep because they all exclusively work a day shift, either teaching, or mother/baby, or anesthesia, or ED.

I have a code not to text after 2200. Or email after 2200. I figure that out when my advisor emailed me back at 0500 because she had just gotten up and was leaving for the gym.

Unless it’s an emergency. And in my world, all work is an emergency.

But I am awake, often until 0100. Just in case I get called in.

Here I am; the odd duck out again.

Not that I mind. Odd ducks are awesome.