Last night shift

I’ve done it, the last night shift.
What in many ways defines us, devoted to neonatal care, is no longer part of my working life.

One of my gifts in life has been endurance and grit, allowing a good amount of workload. It has enabled my long journey from the countryside where I grew up to an intellectually affluent position with many hats: one clinical, one academic, one for greater-good projects (like 99nicu!), and one as a startup entrepreneur.

But with time and age usually come limitations, even for me. Approaching my 60s, and accepting that our family’s cardiovascular phenotype is also my trajectory, I decided to follow the advice to stop working shifts. There’s no drama or anything like that (no need to send flowers!), but I want to stay in good shape until the finishing line.

Still, quitting night shifts is a big step for me, one I’ve been hesitant about. While there are many upsides, including a sense of relief, I also feel a certain fear of missing out.

I think many of you reading this can relate to how shift work becomes part of your DNA when you dedicate your professional life to neonatal care. Babies are born seven days a week, and they don’t care if delivery happens at 2 a.m. on Midsummer’s Eve.* As NICU staff, we know this. Our setup is planned accordingly, and most of us would admit that we actually like this lifestyle, being able and willing to open our large toolbox of small things, at any time.

During my many shifts over the years, I’ve been privileged to meet countless families and their newborns under challenging circumstances. In most (though unfortunately not all) cases, these situations have brought relief and reward, especially when later meeting families and NICU graduates at our follow-up clinics.

So, what now? Honestly, I’m not entirely sure. My daytime clinical role won’t change much, but the bigger shift is in my overall “business model” for work.

In Sweden, on-duty hours can be compensated with time off instead of pay. For example, if you work a weekend, you can get a full week off with salary instead of “grabbing the money.” For me, time has its own precious value, and our model of compensating shift work with time have allowed me to engage in many fulfilling but unfunded projects still connected to neonatal care. Such as research, 99nicu and EBNEO, and starting Neobiomics from scratch.

Now, without the opportunity to “earn time” from night shifts, I’ll need to rethink how to fit my life into a tighter schedule. That’s not entirely a bad thing, but it will require new, creative ways to keep working for the bigger picture.

⸻

*Maybe this isn’t the best example — at 2 a.m. on Midsummer’s Eve in Sweden, many Swedes are still awake, enjoying the early morning sun. But you get my point.