Night/Swing Shifts and Daily Eucharist

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Hey all!

I’m currently making my way into the healthcare field as an assistant in a doctor’s office. This job is within normal office hours, making it fairly easy to attend daily Mass.

However, I plan to make my way towards the nursing field. Especially early in one’s career, this means lots of long (often 12 hour) shifts at odd hours, making it difficult to attend daily Mass. Physicians and other advanced practitioners may face the same dilemma if they work in a hospital setting.

In a vocation of caring the sick, it seems clear one should be receiving the Eucharist as often as possible.

Catholic doctors/nurses, are you able to attend Mass at work? EMHCs often are bringing communion to patients. Is it appropriate/licit for a caregiver to request communion, if his/her shift schedule doesn’t allow them to attend Mass? Are you able to make it to Mass outside your shifts, and still have adequate rest?

(For the record, I’m not referring to the Sunday obligation here as that’s a different question entirely. I’m wondering how healthcare professionals can be daily communicants in the midst of crazy work hours.)

Also to the people who do such work, thank you for your sacrifice! The rest of us couldn’t function much without you:)
 
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It would definitely be tough. Kudos if you can pull it off. You can also make a daily spiritual communion regardless.
 
sd8989 said:
Especially early in one’s career, this means lots of long (often 12 hour) shifts at odd hours
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I work odd hours and adding daily Mass and/or Communion isn’t possible.
sd8989 said:
In a vocation of caring the sick, it seems clear one should be receiving the Eucharist as often as possible.
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Nothing against this, but why would you receive more often just because of your field?
 
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Cruciferi said:
Nothing against this, but why would you receive more often just because of your field?
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For me personally, I’d want that spiritual nourishment while doing this sort of work.

That isn’t to downplay it in any other occupation, that’s something we all should be seeking as our state in life allows. I’m also not trying to impose a burden the Church does not (i.e. we are only obligated to attend Mass on Sundays and holy days).
 
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What a good idea! I’m a nurse, and at one place I used to work a priest would come & hear confessions. That was great. That’d be great too if we had daily Mass where I work. I could sure use it.

Our daily parish Mass is usually at 7 am and when I work it’s a struggle to get there. My shift is supposed to run from 10 p to 6a, but many times it ends up being 10 p to 7:30 a, and if someone calls in, I may have to work until 2 in the afternoon. I’m part time now so I should be getting to daily Mass more, but I get so tired after working all night. I’m likely going to be working full time soon so I don’t know what I’m going to do.

I have started going to the Saturday vigil lately on the weekends. When I work a little over I miss Confession before Mass on Sundays and I don’t feel right unless I go to confession right before Mass.
 
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I work in an ER. Honestly, I find it easier to attend mass more often than if I worked a standard 9-5 where with any decent commute I could not reasonably attend the standard 8am daily mass. The shifts are 12 hours so I only work about 3 days a week, occasionally picking up a partial 4th shift.

With this and some parishes in the city where I work having an afternoon mass one day a week I have altered my schedule to where it is easy for me to attend mass 5-6 times a week. It’s all about working the right times for me… which we have many shifts to choose from (starting at 6am, 7am, 8am, 11am, 3pm, 6pm, 7pm).

That being said at the beginning when I had less control over my schedule it was not easy to work such long shifts and make mass. I was not attending daily mass at that time so I’m referring to the Sunday obligation. As a new employee I was expected to work most weekends and since I requested availability to make mass (we had less shifts) this meant working 6p-6a shifts Friday-Sunday. It was exhausting. I would make it back home at 7:30am and have to be up to make the 10:30am mass if I wanted to go at all, then try to sleep again before another 12 hour shift…

So when you start working in a 24/7 setting (if you do) make sure this is something you outline not just in discussion but in writing when you accept the job. It can wear you down quickly. I’d recommend asking for Sundays off in their entirety. You can almost always pick up hours if you so desire, at least in my experience.

Otherwise, as discussed working these shifts actually can be to your advantage depending on your facility’s flexibility with new hires. I have never seen an EMHC on shift so have never been in the position to be able to answer that question.
 
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sd8989 said:
Catholic doctors/nurses, are you able to attend Mass at work? EMHCs often are bringing communion to patients. Is it appropriate/licit for a caregiver to request communion, if his/her shift schedule doesn’t allow them to attend Mass? Are you able to make it to Mass outside your shifts, and still have adequate rest?
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Im an ICU nurse. Practically speaking, in my specific department. Arranging for communion to be brought to me at specific times during my work shift would be impossible because my work day is so very unpredictable. At any given time I may be down in CT with my patient. Or MRI. Or I may be down with my patient in interventional radiology have a special procedure performed on my patient, perhaps a drain, or a dialysis catheter placement. I may be at the bedside of my patients, helping the doctor put a central line placed. Or be with endoscopy at the bedside of patient doing an EGD.

Too be blunt, and I am only speaking of myself and my work environment. Having scheduled communion brought to me at work is impossible, because of how unpredictable my work is. Even my lunch times are unpredictable. Sometimes my patients are just so sick, its not until late into my shift where I can even take a few minutes for lunch.
 
Here in Pittsburgh, UPMC Mercy was founded as a Catholic institution, and has daily Mass in the hospital weekdays at noon.

But if you are talking about ER work and such, I don’t think you can really plan to make a scheduled mass. You can make a point to be there at noon I guess if you work there, but if a major trauma case or opioid o.d. comes at that point in time, you are going to miss it.
 
Yes, this is true. I don’t work at a Catholic hospital but if I did I would never expect to be able to attend mass on shift. Frankly, the work is too unpredictable and you do good some days to get a lunch break. If you wanted to implement daily mass in your regular routine, you would likely need to find masses that work around your shift times.
 
Marie16 said:
If you wanted to implement daily mass in your regular routine, you would likely need to find masses that work around your shift times.
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Even then, you never know. I was at the doctor’s office for a 7:30 a.m.appointment a couple of years ago and the doctor was 20 minutes late. He explained he was called in early into the ER at 4 a.m. for an emergency surgery. Depending on the specialty, I guess there is a more or less likelihood of getting called in at any hour.
 
I usually do the 5pm vigil Mass on my weekends to work.
But if the spit hits the fan late in my Friday-into-Saturday shift and I wind up staying late, then I skip the Saturday evening Mass and go to Mass Sunday morning after my shift is over.
 
I highly doubt you’ll be able to attend daily Mass consistently if you become a nurse. I’m sure you’ll be able to fit it in now and then, though.
 
Yes, Catholic healthcare workers are able to receive the Eucharist at work. They can attend Mass there as well or make arrangements with the priest there.
 
Not every healthcare setting is going to be large enough to have a chapel or a Catholic chaplain on staff. Not to mention the OP might not be able to take a break for Mass even if one is offered. Many hospitals and clinics just have contact information for a local priest they can call if someone urgently needs anointing/confession.
 
In a CATHOLIC hospital?

Mass is at 11:30am. You’d be amazed at the number of healthcare workers in attendance. If a pager goes off or a cellphone rings, no one bats an eye if the person has to leave to take care of business.
 
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Not all healthcare workers work in Catholic hospitals. If OP becomes a nurse, who knows if they’ll end up working in one.

Second, even in a Catholic hospital, it’s not like everyone can just stop what they’re doing to attend daily Mass. A nurse trying to run an IV can’t just leave the patient hanging to go to Mass.
 
Go to Mass at a Catholic hospital and see for yourself.
 
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I’m sure lots of people do attend Mass, and that’s great. All I’m saying is that business at a hospital can’t completely stop at 1130 AM every day. There are going to be some people who can’t go.

And again, who knows if OP will end up working at a Catholic hospital.
 
BoomBoomMancini said:
I’m sure lots of people do attend Mass, and that’s great. All I’m saying is that business at a hospital can’t completely stop at 1130 AM every day. There are going to be some people who can’t go.
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When I was working, I visited UPMC Mercy ( not a Catholic hospital- but a non-sectarian institution with a Catholic heritage since the sisters were bought out by the U. of Pittsburgh Medical Center- I don’t think the Sisters of Mercy had that many people to operate the place anyhow). It seemed to me that most of the folks gathering in the chapel for Mass were patients and families and not staff members.
 
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