I'm a morning person. I love to get up early, especially if I don't have to go anywhere. My grandmother used to tell me that it's best to get out of bed before the sun is up. Somehow, that idea stayed with me. I don't sleep in, unless I force myself to do so or if I'm really, really tired. I get up the same time everyday regardless of what time I go to bed the previous night.
When I start working, it's clear to me that I'll work a night shift eventually. It's inevitable. At first, I'm wary of doing it. I don't go out at night. I'm usually in bed by 10 or 11 at the latest. To stay awake the whole night is a stretch for me. And I find it hard and a struggle to nap during the day. So, why do it? Well, for starters, I'm a newbie so I need to build my seniority, that means picking up any shifts available, to accumulate hours ( of which, I am repeatedly told to do so!) Then there's the part of earning a living.
This I find to be true.
So anyway, I did get called to do a night shift. I'm sort of on call at three different places, so whoever calls me first, gets my undivided attention. I still find it strange to be driving at night to go to work, when I could have been in bed already. My brain has to adjust to the fact that I need to stay awake for the next eight hours. At this point, I try not to think about the scary movies I've watched before or else.
I'm not sure if I can call it a blessing to be able to work a night shift at three different places. But I think it's a rare thing, to be able to do so. Let's just say, it's a blessing then. :-)
I did a few nights in a hospital, where all I have to do is watch this particular patient sleep through the night. They call this a 1 to 1. So I sit on a chair and watch this patient. Occasionally they try to get out of bed so I have to tell them to go back to sleep or sometimes, they need to go to the bathroom. I have to assist them, make sure they don't fall. It wasn't a physically exhausting job but it felt like a torture, you know, sitting there, fighting off sleep. By the time I go for my break, I'm ready to crash and sleep.
On occasions, I do night shifts on a resident care facility. Usually when this happen, I get called with a few hours to spare, to have a nap before I start at 11. With this one, I feel like, I and my co-workers are always on the go, except during our breaks. Sometimes, I remind myself that I work in a resident facility for elderly people, not on an assembly line of a factory, with dubious nature. After my 8-hour shift, I drive home exhausted and ready for bed.
I did a stint of straight five night shifts at another resident care facility. I work with a partner and we take turns in taking our breaks. We do rounds and make sure every resident is in bed and check if they're still breathing and all. There's really no time to be sleepy, in between doing paperwork and answering an occasional call bell. On a busy night, two or more call bells will ring at the same time. On top of that, a bed alarm goes off, which means that someone is trying to get out of bed. I pray that this won't happen when my partner is on her/his break. By the time four o'clock roll around, my eyes feel heavy and I could have fallen asleep if I close them, even for like a few seconds.
Exactly, until I realized that I still have a couple more nights to do.
What I'm trying to say is that wherever I work a night shift, it all boils down to the same thing, I am sleep-deprived but I also get paid more. ( Which I think doesn't really matter when I look at the deductions reflected on my paycheck. ) People who choose to work at night have different reasons for doing so. As for me, I haven't thought about it until now. A few years ago, I wouldn't have imagine myself staying up the whole night to work.
When someone asked me what I think about working nights, I replied that, "It's alright, besides I don't have to deal with a lot of people." It's true, by the way. I mean, the part about not dealing with a lot of people. I'm not saying that I dislike people. The thing is, there is blissful silence at night, except for the hum of the radiator or the sound of the call bell. I'm spared from having to make small talk. Of course, I do talk. I have to convey information to the nurse or to my co-worker. I also has to communicate with residents. But that's about it. One day, while in the staff room, one co-worker said to me, "You're so quiet, I don't know anything about you." I looked at her, smiled and continued on with my lunch. But in my mind, I was like, "You're not supposed to know anything about me. I'm just here to work."
So, there you go. The story of my night life.
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