If you've always wanted to give the mobile lifestyle a try, but wondered how you'd adapt to new colleagues, new practice settings, and new communities, consider a 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. shift. You just may find the variety of assignments, camaraderie, and learning experiences is too good to pass up.

It's true. More contracts are available—especially for new travelers—on the night shift. And, while mobile providers typically encounter less politics than permanent staff, this benefit is especially prevalent in the evening. With fewer personnel to care for patients, teamwork, autonomy, and respect are essential.

If you've just begun a night shift on assignment or are contemplating a move to healthcare travel, read on for insights from two travelers and an industry expert who have experience with this "not-so-quiet side" of healthcare. You just may discover that acclimating to this schedule is both achievable and rewarding.

For a start, Joe Bryowsky, RN, CCRN, senior clinical nurse manager with On Assignment, headquartered in Calabasas, California, notes that clinicians working the 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. shift are likely to be a closer group of people. "Less politics and more of a team atmosphere usually occur on nights," he says. "Travelers will find an increased opportunity to teach techniques to newer nurses, who are often scheduled on these shifts, and to make a real difference in patient care."

Working with his wife as a travel nurse for 2½ years before becoming a manager 3½ years ago, Joe estimates that approximately 70% to 75% of the assignments on which he places travelers are night shifts. "Caring for patients is fluid and ongoing, 24 hours a day," he explains. "And environments still differ in acuity and census. University settings and Level I and Level II trauma centers are much busier at night than small, local community hospitals."

Powerful teamwork at night

Amy Lowell, RN, couldn't agree more. An emergency specialist, she enrolled in nursing school, earning her degree after spending 8 years as a medical assistant.

Three years ago, she began a mobile career to improve her financial situation and has been traveling in Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire exclusively through Wellesley, Massachusetts-based Sagent Healthstaff ever since. Amy has worked the night shift in emergency departments (EDs) in Plymouth and Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and in The Granite State's Lake Region and Passaconaway Mountains area. "As a traveler who works in a tri-state region," she explains, "word-of-mouth among ED directors often leads me to my next assignment."

Currently practicing on the 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. shift at 178-bed Wentworth-Douglass Hospital (WDH) in Dover, New Hampshire, Amy "loves working nights." In fact, she usually accepts the 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. shift, believing it is the hardest to fill and where the need is greatest. "With hospitals reducing ancillary staff in the evenings, nurses often have more responsibilities, including EKGs, breathing treatments, and transport. As a result, I've noticed an intensified team approach during the night shift. When a trauma comes into the ED, I look to my right and to my left, and I'm grateful for my coworkers."