Do Day Nurses Really Feel that Night Nurses Do Nothing All Night?

[Brita01]

Having worked the 12 hour night shift in many hospitals I find the same things. Day shift nurses leave us so much work to do that we're playing catch up all night. We start off 2 hours behind because we're finishing things left over from the day shift. I've had times when I'm still giving 9pm meds at almost midnite because things were so screwed up starting out. Then we have to do our night shift paperwork and deal with the patients who do NOT "sleep all night". Part of the night shift paperwork involves getting things proper and ready for the day shift to use. And I swear if something gets missed by us we WILL hear about it. It really burns my butt when they come in in the morning complaining about what the night shift didn't do because we ask their secretary to make a call or two for a consult. BUT it's ok for the day shift to pass things to us because it's a "24 hour care hospital". I'm just curious. How many day nurses out there believe that the night nurses should be able to do it all because we have nothing to do anyway?

[H3llo Nurse]

i dont think they purposely do it, theres laziness in different ppl, and different jobs. i guess since most patients are asleep at nite, theres little to do as far as patient care. so thats probably why it feels that way.

[Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP]

I work mother/baby, and I can assure anyone who asks that my patients do NOT sleep at night, or at least not all night.

[Mary C, MSN, RN, APRN, CNM]

I think all shifts have the potential to be very busy and have lots going on. Patient care wise, at my facility, all dressing changes, tubing changes, baths, bedsheet changes are done on night shift from 7p-7a.

This leaves the dayshift to worry about procedures and doctors and multidisciplinary professionals. Not to say that sometimes a little of AM or PM cross between, but for the most part, many are willing to pick up the slack.

[aloevera]

well it seems that the majority (73%) understand that night nurses work just as hard, but on different things.....that is the way it is at my facility...we day nurses handle visitors, doctors, pt. care and charting, procedures, etc. while nights has admissions, pt. care, procedures in early am, etc.....plus nights has that awful shift...I say, they deserve the shift diff and more !!!!!

[lpnflorida]

The myth has always been the other shift doesn't as much as the shift I am currently working.

When that kind of talks starts me thinks we have too much time on our hands to be pointing the finger at others. However, most of us work in facilities which run 24 hours a day and no one shift is responsible to do it all. We should be functioning as an ongoing team to see that in a 24 hour time frame what is needed to be done is completed.

[TopazLover, BSN, RN]

I have worked all shifts in many situations. At some places the night nurses have TONS of paperwork responsibilities as well as lots of patient care. In others night nurses come in with huge bags of hand work or books. More often than not it is a tight knit group that works nights and they seem to thrive on feeding each other. So some times when I give report it looks like they are going to have an all night party. Since I have worked plenty of nights I know that is not reality.

Bless the night nurses. It is a hard shift to work. I have had down times at night on more occasions than days but that is not saying much. I agree with a previous writer. Sometimes we live on old history. Times have changed and night nurses have had to pick up a lot of tasks left undone because too much has changed on days.

I would love to go back to 3 shifts a day. These 12 hour shifts break up the evening care and patients change nurses just when they want to settle down for the night.

[softstorms]

Long time ago, in this world, everyone work 9 to 5. Now, in our 24/7 world we expect food and sevices to continue as long as we need them! The needs have not changed, it is our expectations that have changed. We think that what we want will be there for us at any time we need it! We have become very needy as a people. I want what I want and I want it now!!! We see it as a "Given right". I have the RIGHT to this. Divide those rights by the hundreds of millions who have them and you part is pretty small.

[ohioln, RN]

Night nurses work hard. There are not as many as day or evening shift and they have things to do, and also emergencies arise at times. Occasionally there is a very quiet night, but not every night.

[AMV1701]

I just spent the last couple of hours reading through all of the comments posted on the night versus day shift issue. At first I was seriously po'd, being a night nurse I can really relate to feeling like we get dumped on. From having to do orientation in the days even though we were hired to work at night, to having to go to classes and in services in the days even though we should be sleeping. The administration seems to think it is perfectly normal for someone to switch from days to nights at the drop of a hat. Then there is the whole "dumping" of work issue. I know that day shift is busy, but so is the night shift. I NEVER leave work for the day shift and they ALWAYS leave work for me. I really don't mind helping out if a nurse truly couldn't get all of the work done in their shift, but it happens on every single shift I work. I usually end up sacrificing my break times to ensure that I get all of my work done. And I have seen my share of day shift nurses eating breakfast as I am walking out the door in the morning, so I know that they are getting their breaks. The night shift nurses on my floor start working immediately after receiving report and most don't get breaks all night.

With that being said, something else has also occurred to me. It is beyond pathetic that as professionals we put this much effort and time into belittling the work of our colleagues. Instead of complaining, maybe we should pull together to try to make things better for ourselves and our patients. Look at what California nurses were able to accomplish as far as mandatory nursing ratios. And I know that Ca nurses have complaints about the new laws. They have 5 patients with no tech and such, but I would be thrilled if I had that ratio. As it is now, I regularly have 7 to 8 patients with no tech. Most of my patients are elderly with heart failure. And as the nursing shortage grows, it will only get worse.

It is only recently that I have concluded that working in a field that is over-saturated with women is complete misery. In general, we backstab, insult, belittle, and degrade each other every chance we get (not only in nursing but in all aspects of life). When I work a shift with a male nurse, I breath a sigh of relief. I wish more men were in the field, it makes such a difference to the mentality and atmosphere of the floor. It also seems like professions that have men are taken more seriously and given more respect. Maybe because men are not catty and malicious. It is unbelievable the way women treat each other.

[outsidethebox108]

Working at night for an extended period of time adds a lot of stress to your personal life and health.

[NCRN0802]

I think it is an ongoing problem in the nursing profession. Every shift thinks the other shifts don't do any work. It is just not true. I have worked every shift possible in LTC. Each shift has a large work load. The type of work varies depending on the time of day. I currently work day shift and I do work hard. I have to deal with family complaints, drs coming in and out all day long. But night shift you usually have twice the patient load and have half the staff. Nurses need to stop being so critical of each other. We all do an important job. We need to be building each other up, not knocking each other down.

[psychonaut]

One of the docs I work with once came up to me at the end of my shift (7AM), clapped me on the shoulder, grinned, pointed to the clock, and said, "Keep em' alive till 7:05, good job!" I think he was happy I hadn't woken him up all night