# What's the graveyard shift called in hospitals? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 20, 2010, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-graveyard-shift-called-in-hospitals/543844 "2010-06-20T04:50:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2010, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-graveyard-shift-called-in-hospitals/543844/21 "2010-06-20T17:07:30Z")
I worked the shift (ours was 11pm - 7am) and it was called the “overnight shift” in both hospitals. I worked the reception and PBX in the ER. I worked in a lot of hotels overnights and we called it “overnight” I’ve never worked the shift anywhere it was called the graveyard shift. Hmmmmm ---
**Author:** ![hellpaso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecae2f/32.png) [@hellpaso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hellpaso)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2010, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-graveyard-shift-called-in-hospitals/543844/22 "2010-06-20T17:55:18Z")
Nights or 11 to 7. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2010, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-graveyard-shift-called-in-hospitals/543844/23 "2010-06-20T21:18:32Z")
My mother was a nurse for several different hospitals and convalescent homes, and all of them simply referred to the shifts by their times, usually 7-3, 3-11 and 11-7. YMMV ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2010, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-graveyard-shift-called-in-hospitals/543844/24 "2010-06-20T22:54:31Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Why? There’s no agreement about the origin of “lobster shift.” I think the most plausible origin is the fact that lobsters are fairly stupid animals, and you’d have to be a fool to work those hours. As a former “lobster” myself, I must admit that there are people who prefer to work that shift, because they’re social outcasts, and it gives them an excuse for having no social life (not to be confused, however, with stupidity). There’s also the less-plausible theory that such workers go out drinking before work, then show up with faces as red as lobsters. ---
**Author:** ![Mesquite-oh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a183cd/32.png) [@Mesquite-oh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mesquite-oh)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-graveyard-shift-called-in-hospitals/543844/25 "2010-06-21T06:35:34Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > There’s also the less-plausible theory that such workers go out drinking before work, then show up with faces as red as lobsters. My old barbershop shared a wall with a bar near San Antonio’s medical center. When I would go in at 7:00am to get a cut before going to work, it woudn’t be unusual to hear the 11-7 shift workers getting drunk and singing karaoke next door. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-graveyard-shift-called-in-hospitals/543844/26 "2010-06-21T16:26:30Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > There’s no agreement about the origin of “lobster shift”… I once read a book set in the mid-Eighties called _The Days and Nights of a Young D.A._, about a newbie Manhattan asst. district attorney. The night shift was called “lobster shift,” and the explanation given was that lobster fisherman would go out at night to collect their traps. I make no claim that this is the actual origin of the term. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-graveyard-shift-called-in-hospitals/543844/27 "2010-06-21T16:39:09Z")
Back about 40 years ago, when I worked at a steel mill in Australia, the 11pm-7am or midnight-8am shift was called the dogwatch – a term originating on ships. (But I only ever worked the day shift.) ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-graveyard-shift-called-in-hospitals/543844/28 "2010-06-21T16:54:45Z")
Since all the ICUs I work had 12 hour shifts, they were simply days and nights. BTW, **panache45** , I worked nights for most of my 40 years. I am neither stupid nor anti-social. There are many reasons to prefer nights. A big one is dividing child care between parents. I preferred nights because I love to teach in a casual setting. Night shift is the newbie shift, so having someone around that actually knows something is important. ---
**Author:** ![Emily\_Litella](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emily_litella/32/3370_2.png) [@Emily\_Litella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emily_Litella)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-graveyard-shift-called-in-hospitals/543844/29 "2010-06-21T17:24:58Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I once read a book set in the mid-Eighties called _The Days and Nights of a Young D.A._, about a newbie Manhattan asst. district attorney. The night shift was called “lobster shift,” and the explanation given was that lobster fisherman would go out at night to collect their traps. I make no claim that this is the actual origin of the term. That’s what I thought too, but I googled it and still can’t confirm it. I work in printing too, we also call it a lobster shift, and the folks who work that shift are not, IMHO, as competent as the day shift workers. When they hire people they have to start working on the lobster shift, then move up to the better shift schedules. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-graveyard-shift-called-in-hospitals/543844/30 "2010-06-21T17:53:45Z")
I was in the hospital recently. The nurses didn’t work on a 3 shift rotation anymore. From what I could tell, it was 7am to 7pm 7pm-7am two 12 hour shifts. ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-graveyard-shift-called-in-hospitals/543844/31 "2010-06-21T18:22:20Z")
I work the graveyard shift, but it’s at a helpdesk. I think our schedule says that, since no one but our department sees the schedule. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2010, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-graveyard-shift-called-in-hospitals/543844/32 "2010-06-22T02:37:00Z")
> [@Emily\_Litella](#): > > . . . the folks who work that shift are not, IMHO, as competent as the day shift workers. That’s the opposite of my experience. When I finally got on the day shift, I found the work to be much easier . . . except that then I had to put up with owners and clients. Sure, there were a few misfits on lobster shift, but they were competent misfits. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2010, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-graveyard-shift-called-in-hospitals/543844/33 "2010-06-23T13:29:41Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > In the printing industry it’s called the “lobster shift.” No, I’ve worked the lobster shift. That’s like 4 a.m. to noon. ---
**Author:** ![Daithi\_Lacha](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daithi_lacha/32/5430_2.png) [@Daithi\_Lacha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daithi_Lacha)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2010, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-graveyard-shift-called-in-hospitals/543844/34 "2010-06-23T17:22:59Z")
> [@TubaDiva](#): > > No, I’ve worked the lobster shift. That’s like 4 a.m. to noon. A former roomate used to work on the local newspaper, and his overnight shift (started at 11 IIRC) was referred to as “the lobster shift.” I drove taxi at nights (midnight to 8 am), and we called that the graveyard shift. Especially truthy, as we’d park in the local graveyard to sleep if it was a slow night. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2010, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-graveyard-shift-called-in-hospitals/543844/35 "2010-06-23T18:01:42Z")
I came in here to post just that. I worked at a daily newspaper for 25 years; though I never worked lobster, we changed from an afternoon pub to a morning when I’d been there about 5 years, and our shifts changed to accommodate the press run. The overnight shift was still the lobster, though. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2010, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-graveyard-shift-called-in-hospitals/543844/36 "2010-06-23T20:03:42Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I was in the hospital recently. The nurses didn’t work on a 3 shift rotation anymore. > > From what I could tell, it was 7am to 7pm 7pm-7am > two 12 hour shifts. The main shifts are indeed 7-7, but in the ER that doesn’t account for surges in patient numbers in the afternoon and evening, so you’ll often see additional shifts such as 9a-9p, 11a-11p and even 3p-3a. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2010, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-graveyard-shift-called-in-hospitals/543844/37 "2010-06-23T20:09:20Z")
I don’t know where everyone lives, but I do see that someone from NE Ohio and someone from New Jersey mentioned ‘lobster shift’. I’d never heard the term before this thread. Maybe it’s some sort of Back East thing? As for the OP, it sounds like ‘3rd’ or ‘Night’ shift is what is used in hospitals. ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2010, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-graveyard-shift-called-in-hospitals/543844/38 "2010-06-23T20:47:53Z")
The nurses here work 8am-4pm, 8am-8pm or 8pm-8am. They’re either the day shift, late shift or night shift. Docs generally work 9am-5pm, 9am-10pm or 9pm-10am (overlap for handovers). Known as days, longs or nights. Shifts for doctors in A&E here are so horrible they don’t have names. I worked a rota where the shifts were: 9am-5pm, 11am-8pm, 1pm-10pm, 2pm-12am, 5pm-3am, 9pm-9am, and you rotated through all of them (i,e, no-one got to work just “days” or “nights”). I worked just three 9am-5pm shifts in a month where I worked 25 out of 31 days and never worked more than 4 of the same type of shift in a row. It wreaks havoc on your body clock. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2010, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-graveyard-shift-called-in-hospitals/543844/39 "2010-06-23T22:45:26Z")
> [@irishgirl](#): > > The nurses here work 8am-4pm, 8am-8pm or 8pm-8am. They’re either the day shift, late shift or night shift. > Docs generally work 9am-5pm, 9am-10pm or 9pm-10am (overlap for handovers). Known as days, longs or nights. > > Shifts for doctors in A&E here are so horrible they don’t have names. > I worked a rota where the shifts were: 9am-5pm, 11am-8pm, 1pm-10pm, 2pm-12am, 5pm-3am, 9pm-9am, and you rotated through all of them (i,e, no-one got to work just “days” or “nights”). I worked just three 9am-5pm shifts in a month where I worked 25 out of 31 days and never worked more than 4 of the same type of shift in a row. It wreaks havoc on your body clock. Yep, welcome to my life. ---
**Author:** ![SmithCommaJohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@SmithCommaJohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmithCommaJohn)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2010, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-graveyard-shift-called-in-hospitals/543844/40 "2010-06-23T22:49:18Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Every shift is the graveyard shift at the cemetery. Except the ice cream shift. It’s a little-known perk of being an undertaker. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-graveyard-shift-called-in-hospitals/543844.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-graveyard-shift-called-in-hospitals/543844.md?page=3)