[LexiLuRN]

Hello...I'm a new nurse (off of orientation for about 2 1/2 months) on a tele/PCU floor. I work days right now. At first I was totally out of my element but now I'm learning to pick up the pace. Even so, I still feel like I'm doing a poor job. My assessments are soooooo rushed and I feel so guilty that I can't take my time on certain things. I make sure I ALWAYS take time with meds....but I feel like everything else I do is so half-a$$ed. I don't like this feeling. The other thing is that I'm never able to chart until later in the day and I think my charting suffers because nothing is fresh in my mind.

Should I ask my manager to switch to night shift? Will I have more time to slow down and do a better job? I don't know what to do!

[fergus51]

Perhaps try to follow a nurse on nights for a few shifts to see if that's the case. On some floors nights are a bit slower paced, but other times night nurses get more patients than day shift nurses so it's just as bad. Plus, you may not have support around (I've worked nights with no unit secretary, no aids, no docs around, etc) and that can make a difference.

[CarVsTree]

Great advice from Fergus. On most units, nights is not slower, just different.

We have less staff and when someone from that staff is out, they are rarely replaced for the whole shift. 1:1's that pop up during the shift are staffed by the techs on the floor leaving us short 1-2.

Also, while days has discharges, we have a LOT of admissions.

[oneLoneNurse]

Nights seems more forgivable than Days. It may not necessarily be easier.

Less exposure to the top brass.

[nyapa]

You will not gain the same skills working nights as you do during days. Many duties attended during the day are not done at night. You do not have contact with families etc, that you have during the day, and there is rarely any contact with other health professionals as well. Doctors rounds do not generally occur at night. But you will pick up other skills - I always felt more independent at nights, because there are less senior staff to make decisions. Time management is different. Where I work there are less staff/more patients, and if anything acute happens, I swear it is at night when there is no one around! So I would suggest staying on days, to build up your skills, time management and knowledge. Nights are not slower.

[NurseBeth7807]

At nights we have a LOT more paperwork to do...we have to get the charts & clipboards & MARS ready for the dayshift. Also as previously said we don't have our unit clerk past 11pm, and there just aren't as many resources available to us at night. I am 2 weeks out of orientation and average 6-7 patients at night, so it doesn't leave a lot of extra time, especially when they're calling for Dilaudid every 2 hours!

[NursingAgainstdaOdds]

HAH, well I'm on nights and I have often felt the same! As a PP said - they're not easier, just different. I like night nursing a lot, it's a whole different ball game. The types of situations you are helping your pt through are different - i.e. handling their hospitalization alone (because their visitors aren't there at night), managing pain, promoting rest, working with sundowners, and -I have found- a lot more pt anxiety at night. It's hard to be in a dark hospital all by yourself when you're ill.

As a PP said, there is a ton of paperwork to be done, but here too you can have a significant impact on your pt's well-being. For example, if you find something wrong and do a thorough chart review and catch something important, you can totally turn-around a pt's stay.

I also like to be that person that is there for the pt when they wake-up sad, and/or anxious, and/or scared. I had a really touching moment with a pt the other night who frequently wakes up in hysterics d/t anxiety and breathing difficulty. I gave her a breathing tx and talked her through the episode and she fell asleep holding my hand. It really touched me.

[NursingAgainstdaOdds]

Oh, also ... I'm new (3 months!), and I have felt like a substandard nurse before too. Like there just wasn't enough time in the shift to get everything done! Well, there isn't. You can't do everything. As I have progressed, however, I have learned to add more and more details to my rapid assessments. Consciously, I think to myself, "what am I missing? Is there something more I could be doing overall?" and then mindfully add it to my routine. One thing at a time.

[TheCommuter]

The positive aspects of night shift include no rude doctors making rounds, no abusive family members who take up your time, and no nurse managers or administrators breathing down your neck.

[NurseBeth7807]

I also wanted to add that one of the things I like about the night shift is since we are more "on our own" rather than the day shift, we have a really great team at night who works together. I had a patient go bad and immediately my fellow nurses went into action.....one called rapid response, one got a non-rebreather, one grabbed the Narcan, etc. and we all worked together and got my patient back on track. Being new I feel "alone" many times, but it's nice to know that I'm really not.

Another thing I like about nights it's just a less-hectic atmosphere. Although you will most likely be busy for the entire shift, the actual hospital atmosphere itself isn't so crazy.....no doctors making rounds etc. Plus....when going to work and coming home, I'm always in the OPPOSITE direction of the traffic! Haha!