Two years on the unit as a tech — then her first night alone as the nurse. The quiet shift that teaches you everything.
"She'd worked the unit for two years. As a tech. And then came her first night... alone. As the nurse."
Not every first shift is a disaster. Some of them are quiet — and the quiet ones teach you something too. The night team took care of her with a fair, gentle assignment. She made it through. And she wrote something worth keeping: it felt "really, really lonely"... with no preceptor beside her. But she didn't mind the sound of silence.
In this episode of First Shift, Jon Haws, RN — founder of NURSING.com — tells her story, then tells his own: his first solo shift in the Neuro ICU, sitting with a family as they withdrew life support. Afterward, the patient's mother hugged him and said, "I love you. I will never forget you." He didn't do anything special. He just stayed.
Three things for the quiet shifts: you're never actually alone — build your team, learn their names, say thank you. Asking for help is the job, not a weakness. And the oxygen mask rule: take care of yourself first, so you can take care of everybody else.
If you're a nursing student or a new nurse, this one's for you. New episodes of First Shift drop every Friday — real stories from nurses' first shifts, and the honest talk that gets you through yours.
Studying for the NCLEX? Try SIMCLEX — the adaptive practice exam that tells you when you're ready: https://nursing.com/simclex
It's time to go out and be your best self today. Happy nursing, y'all.
