ICU NURSES: In your opinion when is it less stressful working at ICU nights or days?

[bluejeanjunkie]

I am new grad RN offered a position at ICU, and I can't decide whether I should take the day shift or night shift.

I worked as a nurse extern at a tele floor and find the night shift less stressful. I dont know if this is the same on an ICU floor. In my experience on a tele floor on day shifts, preceptors have less time to teach new nurses due to the demand on days--where most procedures are done, demand from family members, pt is awake/more emotional complains.

I would like to learn a lot from an ICU preceptor. Do you think the ICU preceptor can teach well at night or days given the work demand on the floor? Also, for me as a new grad, is it more stressful to work at nights OR days?

Thank you so much for your help! :nuke:

[avbabygirl]

As a new grad, I would prefer dayshift, it may be a bit stressfull, however you learn time management,meet all the doctors,accompany pt. to a test, learn how to solve problems or rsolve issues befor they arise,see allot more,look for your charts

night shift is for exp. nurses that can request what they need from the physician and review charts,actually did their bid on dayshift and are very independant thinkers, on night shift the pt. are pretty much in bed and you monitor them all night, review the chart, at times you have codes or have to attend codes,admit er pt.you have less physicians on nights

[Keysnurse2008]

It depends....if you are the new grad...it is maybe less stressful on nights. Less procedures, more time to get your questions answered and get a firmer grasp on how to manage the patients well. If you are one of the few experienced nurses left on the unit at night with several new grads, maybe it is a little more stressful bc you feel responsible for what goes on with not only your patients , but also the new nurses.

[OB6658]

Okay, being that I have worked CCU/ICU, I will share my opinion. (and it is my opinion)

Days: higher stress because of the constant activities: meals, procedures, tests, more medications given, visitors, MD orders, hygiene care and getting patient in/out of bed (if applicable). Managers everywhere.

However, because of all these happenings, you will learn alot on days. Especially when you have to assist the MD with procedures etc...take the patient to xray, scans etc...Orientation is also better, because the so many activities gives you a chance to experience and learn alot. If a patient is in trouble, you can call the MD at his office or whereever he is and getter a faster response.

However, day shift is high stress but worth it in the end IF you really want to work ICU and once you learn those critical thinking skills, you'll have more confidence, be more organized, learn time management and have less apprehension in going to work, therefore your day will be less stressful for you. That's not to say that 1 patient going bad won't put a kink into your day!

Nights: Yes, more less laid back. However, you really need a good group of co-workers who practice teamwork as your support system is nil. As most patients do sleep at night, their heart rate drops (depending on their meds and problems) sometimes into the 30's. So you generally have to have good observation and thinking skills. Know your rhythms, More codes at night. Cons: MD are harder to get in an emergency, they sometimes can be ornory if called, so you need to really have all the facts organized before calling. Alot of the time, you are calling the "on-call" MD who knows nothing about the patient as MD's rarely report off to each other. As a new grad, you will not learn the skills required to work ICU as quickly because most procedures and activities are during the day.

Night shift is for more experienced nurse who are confident in their skills. The pros: no meals, basic hygiene care, less medications, less getting the patient in/out of bed, a lot less procedures, xrays, labs.....unless new admit.

But you gotta have a good working team who will be there to help you when the #*#* hits the fan!

Either shift: ICU/CCU nurses are generally assigned the "code team" for the hospital. Also, hospitals today have "fast response teams". Usually the charge nurse is on that.

Good luck in whatever you decide. ICUs today are not what they used to be. The patients are MUCH sicker,on more monitoring devices and require more tests, procedures, medications....generally put; more care! (this also depends on the type of hospital you are in, a smaller hospital has less acute patients are most are transferred to higher levels of care.)

[antonia_lois]

definitely nights.. but the most loathsome thought abt it is the normal sleep you get deprived of. add the pimples you get (for those inclined like me) fr hormonal imbalances..im getting horrible pimples nowadays due to night shifts..omg!!!