How hard can it be? It's just night shift....vent

Student2Registered · Oct 16, 2010

Hi! I switch back and forth between days and nights. At first that sounded like a ridiculous idea but now I see why it might be a good idea. I benefit from experience on both shifts (which are quite different in a few ways) and I benefit from the perspective of both sides. Sick people don't sleep (for the most part). They are still in pain, nauseated, they still pee and poop. People do code or need rapid responses at night and guess what - there are a lot less resources at night!

I'm sorry that there is this attitude between shifts because patient care is HARD no matter what time of day. And I think both shifts should be able to pass something reasonable on to the next shift without feeling nervous or guilty about it because of the next shift's response.

Just want you to know some of us out here know night shift nurses bust their tails too!!!

NamasteNurse, BSN, RN · Oct 16, 2010

I've worked all three shifts and while the night shift does have a heavy med pass in the morning, it is nothing like working on the "awake" shifts. Not saying it's easy, but it is easier. How can it not be? From 11-at least 3 or 4 most people are sleeping, that never happens on 7-3 or 3-11. Plus all day and evening you have doctors, specialists, students, PT, OT, med deliveries, appointments, visitors, all sorts of traffic. At night it's pretty quiet. SO, yes all nurses work but the night shift is definitely quieter in all ways.

juststartinout · Oct 17, 2010

Student2Registered,

I agree that all shifts are difficult. I worked Days, Evenings, and Nights. I'd say the hardest at my facility is the 3-11 shift, so many things get neglected because of clients many visitors that things naturally get passed along to evening when all the other staff start leaving (OT,PT,ST,Dr's,SW's, Unit Sec's). I'd say the clean up crew for the days is generally evening shift, and sometimes things a lot of things can go undone until 7pm...then suddenly you're supposed to clean up what would normally take much longer to do than 4 measly hours before 12 :eek: . I just get frustrated sometimes, I think both 12 hour shifts are working hard...very hard, but sometimes i think ppl honestly think pts just go to bed and sleep the whole night through...smh.

NamasteNurse,

I can agree that it's quieter, but i'd say the main problem at night is that the pt load is larger and we are bogged down with sooo much paperwork it takes hours to complete (at my facility all paperwork is by hand). It only takes one real emergency to put you behind for hours just trying to do paperwork. Also at night the pt's who are really suffering seem to do even worse, because during the day they were at least distracted somewhat by what was going on. Dr's and therapy visits, but at night the only thing there is to do is feel terrible.

What you describe sounds like the perfect nightshift. Those nights like that are few and far in between. Just because they are asleep doesn't mean they are incontinent and require complete bed changes, which leads to a need for a pain med, which leads to the lonely/bored pt who wants to talk for hours, while you have 12 MARS to check, Chart Checks, Meds that need to be set up, Notes that need to be written, Dr's that need to be paged, The IV that won't stop beeping and keeping her and her roomate up, pt's who weigh over 300 lbs that need to be turned q2 (plus theyre finicky and their leg must be positioned that way, the client that was confused and pulled off her complicated drsing that now has to be redone @ 0300, the client with the bedcheck who wants to get up unassisted and doesnt and will never understand the use of a call light. While I would agree most are asleep at night there's a lot less staff to help with all those little things, that can quickly add up to make big things. So i can't agree that it's easier. Each shift has it's unique difficulties, no one has it easier than the others. Just my opinion.

1rarejewel · Oct 18, 2010

I am new, but have oriented on Days and Nights. I've always hated that "it's easier on night shift" bit. Granted, I was a NA on nights previously. I definitely agree with juststartinout. I think they are all busy, just a different busy. We have 12 hour shifts 0730-2000, 1930-0800, 1530-0400 and 0330-1600 and there are major spurts of busy with each shift. I'm not taking anything away from any shift, but to assume that patients sleep on night shift is the biggest bunch of croc for me to hear. Not to mention that lovely symptom of Alzheimer's/dementia called sundowner's. No such thing as transport, so our NAs and RNs have to take pts down for scans. Of course we get to do two blood sugars, QHS and pre breakfast...and don't let the BS fall during sleep and you get to deal with hypoglycemia upon waking, not really sure how long they've been low. We get the angry return calls from MDs for disturbing their sleep, if they call back at all.

On our floor we can hold 32 pts...and we usually do. Day shift gets 5 pts max, many times 4. Night shift gets 5-6 pts the first 4 hours, pick up another 1-2 at midnight because they send a nurse to another unit, and because we drop down a nurse at 0400 we usually pick up another pt each. We go through report 3-4 times a shift.

It just sucks that because we are nights people act as if there is nothing to do. We pass night, middle of the night (mainly antibiotics) and morning meds. Night and morning I&Os, tons of paperwork, and like stated earlier since people are in pain with no distraction, they are on the clock with thier Q2-4hr pain meds. Now with a minimum of 6 pts and I'll be generous and say half (because it is more often almost all pts) of them ask for pain meds, I'm constantly passing meds.

Now maybe it's not so bad depending on the floor, but we are a surgical/tele floor. 60-75% of our patients are abdominal surgical pts. Many are elderly and wander, but aren't strong enough or are confused. Some have a history of drug abuse and let's face it...what they get from us just doesn't cut it.

There are many factors that go into what makes a shift busy, and not every shift is for everybody. Thank goodness there are people that prefer day shift...I'm not one of them. I would prefer not to deal with PT, OT, Dieticians, the politics, management, and the other things that come along with it. I can get more sleep while the children are at school, so I'm not so fatigued at the start of my next shift. What I would like though is enough support, so it doesn't feel like our shift is left stranded to fend for ourselves.

I just wish it weren't a Day vs Night attitude...and we could just respect each other for the jobs that we do.