Medicine After Dark: Life as a Hospital 'Nocturnist'
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When the sun goes down, one segment of the physician population wakes up. They're not vampires, even if they do have to syphon the odd vial of blood. These creatures of the night spend traditional sleeping hours practicing medicine.
Nocturnists, also known as nighttime hospitalists, work night shifts — typically from 6 or 7 PM to 6 or 7 AM — in inpatient hospitals and emergency departments.
Long hours and sleep deprivation are nothing new to hospital physicians, yet it may seem counterintuitive that health professionals would choose a path that disrupts their sleeping and eating schedules while offering limited resources at work. At night, hospitals are often stripped down to the bare bones: fewer patients and visitors, fewer staff members, and fewer open departments. The halls tend to be empty, illuminated only by fluorescent lighting.
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@pratap Today, there remains a need for experienced healthcare professionals to work the night shift. Health facilities tend to offer a 15% pay increase, on average, to incentivize physicians to work nights.