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?

[mamabear]

Gee, I thought my facility was the only one...

We never have more than three staff, regardless of how many patients we have or how high the acuity is (are there really places that staff according to acuity)

Invariably, day shift will come breezing in, wanting to know why this or that did or didn't happen. Because days doesn't start until 0815, it falls upon the night shift (2345 to 0815) to pass the 0800 meds:( If we get two or three admits, hang it up. Then we get accused of trying to scam overtime.

True, most of the pts sleep all night. However, it's been my experience that when things go bad on nights they go real bad real fast. On the rare occasion where a day nurse gets pulled to nights, they flounder around, get in our way, and act like they're our bosses:( .

[fergus51]

In our facility we rotate between days and nights, and we don't seem to have nearly the same amount of bickering between shifts....

[Rottie1]

This problem is not unique to nursing, before nursing I was in the military as an aircraft mechanic, and it was the same thing. It isn't just a night shift thing either. Every shift seems to believe that they are the ones that do more work.

I have worked different shifts in nursing on different units and as it was said prior, each shift has it's own specific demands. We all need to work as a team, I know there will be those that don't think they have to work as hard as others, but what is the priority here? Patient care. NO?

So regardless of what others are doing, lets get it together for the patient.

[TIREDmidnightRN]

This screen name was no accident!!!!

[nurs4kids]

I work nights, have worked days and evenings. NIGHT shift is not as hard, I'm sorry. The hardest thing about night shift, is the impact it has on your body because of being up at night. There is no comparison between the workload. We don't have this days vs nights issue here...we all work together. Maybe it's because we (nights) admit it's easier for us, so we do what we can to help them and they know it's harder on us physically, so if we pass the buck once in a while, they understand.

remember the patient...that's the end goal

[Brownms46]

Yes....and I have worked ALL shifts also! And guess what...If I was a day person I would still being working days! Why? Because I have worked days when....most of my pts were D/C'd...went to procedures...rehab....out of the facility for txs...and by the time they came back it was time to go home!!!

Next...right now on the unit I work on...I have stayed over on days...to watch nurse after nurse come in and sit down and eat BREAKFAST !!!

Our shift:... many pts are awake. and Sundowner's is alive and well! ..TV's on...family members in the room..or calling the unit...to see if they can come up.....or at the desk...demanding someone come and get them a blanket...or answer their questions...get them coffee, or food for they're family member who has been in the ER ALL day......etc..etc..! We give med ALL nite long....get admissions .....up to 7 in 2 hours one nite...and with only 3 or 4 nurses...and one is the Charge Nurse...who also has pts...but NOT on the day or evening shift! Many times there is NO aide...and so the calls lights are going off constantly! There is no Secretary to answer the phones...no pts leaving the floor for anything...unless it's a trip to the unit...and rarely any time to sit and have so much as a potty break... let alone breakfast!!! We also do all the AM labs with sometimes on as many as 6-8 pts each...the chart checks..find all the orders not taken care of...expected to get the stools for OB/sputums...consents signed.. chg IV sites...TF bags...get pt's ready for OR/ procedures in AM...review the MARS...ALL the BS and SS in the AM..and the daily wts...which amount to about half the unit!!! On days they have an admissions nurse....WE DON'T!! Many times when the heart caths come back to the unit...it's about the time the 12hr nite shifts comes on duty...so we're the ones doing the Q30min Q 1 hr...etc..etc....not days..on at least two different pts.!!!

YESSSS I totally realize that there are hospitals where the work is distributed differently.. and that some days or nites are better or worse than others...BUTTTTTT.............

PLEASE ....... give me a break when you start to speak for everyone who works nites!!! If YOU have it better on nites than days...more power to ya...but speak for you Pleeze..and where YOU work

One good thing I can say about the day shift where I'm ...NO ONE has made any such statements!! Especially since the nurses on days.. don't do baths....their 4 CNA's do!!! And the ones they don't get too?? Guess what??

[PhantomRN]

It may have something to do with the fact you work with kids...they usually dont SUNDOWN.

I thought when I worked nights In the unit that I had to get to days because I was missing something...well I found out I wasn't. After I got to days and developed my routine, I found I was just as bored on days as I was on nights.

[Fgr8Out]

Yanno, this thread makes me appreciate more and more the facility I work in. Hell, I KNOW my CNA's appreciate me, as I make certain that the RNs are assigned 2-3 of their 6-7 patients a day as primary care... yep, that's right... where I work RNs give BATHS too... AND empty bed pans, AND an assortment of other tasks that make for a well rounded Nurse.

My solution? Come work with US....LOL

[Brownms46]

Fgr8out the statement about the CNA's doing the baths on days wasn't meant as an RN's do this and CNAs do that. It was meant to show that days has more help then nites! I have always been amazed by the number of folks who come on duty in the morning....and what the nite shift has been expected to get by with!

But you know what?? My organizatonal skills have improved greatly on this assignment....now I manage to get out on time.. every morning. It took a while to get use to...but now...I can do an admission in 20 to 30 mins... including all labs and consents..... no matter how talkative they are....get the first admission at the beginning of the shift....receive two post ops.....and many times a second admission... give a report I feel good about at the end.. and still do the extras for my pts/families! Sometimes I can even squeeze in a few mins break for myself...if I'm lucky!

So I must say this assignment hasn't been a total waste...I have learned a lot here. But even so...I still have only 8 more weeks!

[Fgr8Out]

Originally posted by Brownms46

Fgr8out the statement about the CNA's doing the baths on days wasn't meant as an RN's do this and CNAs do that. It was meant to show that days has more help then nites! I have always been amazed by the number of folks who come on duty in the morning....and what the nite shift has been expected to get by with!

But you know what?? My organizatonal skills have improved greatly on this assignment....now I manage to get out on time.. every morning. It took a while to get use to...but now...I can do an admission in 20 to 30 mins... including all labs and consents..... no matter how talkative they are....get the first admission at the beginning of the shift....receive two post ops.....and many times a second admission... give a report I feel good about at the end.. and still do the extras for my pts/families! Sometimes I can even squeeze in a few mins break for myself...if I'm lucky!

So I must say this assignment hasn't been a total waste...I have learned a lot here. But even so...I still have only 8 more weeks!

Browns, I agree with you 100%. Given the changes in patient acuity, I wonder why it is staffing hasn't changed with the times as well. I'm of the opinion that originally staffing was lower at nights because (in part, not only) there USED to be set hours for visiting, limitation of visitors, etc. Nursing had a bit more control in some ways, whereas today... families are here 24/7 and not ALL families are a help, rather a hindrance. Also, patient acuity wasn't what it is now... we have patients on the floor who would have been in ICU in years past. They're just more work, so to speak.

All shifts require a thorough review as to staffing needs. I think if this were done, it would become apparent that each shift has it's own challenges and that patients deserve the same patient-to-nurse ratio, no matter WHAT time of day.

[Brownms46]

WOW... did you say a post a mouthful! AMEN...and amen!

[it'sallbueno]

I feel like I have a twin out there with Fgr8Out. (I agree with every one of your posts!)

And as for my two cents, I think work ETHICS come into play, not just the work shift. I've worked all the variations of shifts out there in the last 12 years, and I've seen from crap to incredible in my fellow collegues...

But hey! It's Nation Nurses Day. Take a moment to celebrate this awesome profession. We do awesome things. We are awesome people! I think on the whole, Florence is looking down on us with her lamp, and giving us a smile.