Sleeping during nightshift!!

Nurses General Nursing

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This is not my first night shift position and I am shocked at how many people at this hospital sleep during their shift. I'm not talking about nodding off for a couple minutes either. They are slumped over in chair, head on the desk drooling all over themselves (at the nurses station!). Their little slumber lasts 1-2 hours, some even sneak off and sleep in their vehicles for this amount time. During this time almost everybody is busy, and even busier because they're pick up their slack.

I have mentioned this to several of the CN's, and don't get much of a response. It just some how seems accepted?!? This just can't be normal?

It's so frustrating, I run my butt off and barely manage to get breaks, eat while chart etc... and there they are: snoozing in the corner.

Please tell me this is far from the norm where you work!

Specializes in Med. Surg., Perioperative, & LTC.

To any of you professionals that do "Nap at Night" while working.... How would you feel if your most precious loved one was under the care of someone who does that?? I've worked nights, days and evenings and I have found work is rarely ever done. There is always so much more that we as nurses can do for our patients and our co-workers.

Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.

Please lets try to stick to the topic at hand and leave the judgements of one another out of the discussion.

There's a way to disagree with someone without calling them self-righteous.

Thanks.

Specializes in telemetry.

Seriously, who has TIME to sleep?????????

I work 12 hour nights, and I am running pretty much the whole time. I am lucky to get 15-20 minutes of my lunch, and any of my non-existant 3X15min breaks. Same goes for my other fellow night shifters.....

At this point I would be happy to HAVE a break. And if I have overtime, I wish they would include the 1.25 hours of break I worked through (3-15's and 30min lunch) They only count how much OVER you work.

Management says to have others cover you so you can take a break. Easier said than done when others are just as busy as you......

My 2 cents, it is YOUR break, YOUR time to do with it what you wish.

I find it a little disheartening when others think all night-shifters do is sleep on the job and that they could do sooo much more for their patients.

Specializes in Med. Surg., Perioperative, & LTC.

How can you elude that possible lack of patient care (by sleeping while on duty) can not be the "topic at hand"? Why else would we have a problem with doing it?

Specializes in Psych, Med/Surg, LTC.

I am a bit confused here. Are we discussing sleeping while on the clock, or sleeping while on an unpaid break? I don't see the difference if someone goes outside for a smoke, a trip to Burger King, home to see their kid, or takes a nap on an unpaid break. In either circumstance, the employee is not getting paid, and they are temporarily not on duty. I don't see a difference. A nurse won't be taking care of anyone while at Burger King/hospital cafeteria just the same as if they were napping. Now sleeping while you are on the clock, thats another story.

ok that sounds nice but how on earth can you sleep that long during your shift, you must have less charting or really quiet, healthy patients. We have ratio laws here so our ratios are same as yours. Pay sounds similar too. But sleeping 2-3 hrs a night? Why would they want to pay you guys $60+ per nurse to sleep? We get a half hour break, I generally eat right there while charting. I have never, ever slept and don't need to - I sleep 8 hrs during the day. On days when I'm returning to work I take a 2 hr nap in the afternoon. If I had 2 hrs to sit around at work I don't know what I'd do with myself, I guess read a book or cruise the internet?

WHAT I'M READING IS CRAZY

WHAT ARE YOU ALL DOING TO YOURSELVES? NOT being able to sleep on a night shift, reporting other nurses, getting written up, slaving away...

I passed the NCLEX and let me tell you, there is no way I'll take a nights position. Ever.

This is how it works here in Vancouver Canada

Not only is the starting salary 27 something for a new grad...after two years I'm making $29 something. Buttt....

* We only have 4 patients per shift...max five on Night shifts

* On night shifts, depending on the floor we sleep 2-2.5/3 hours

* We go to the lounge or empty rooms and sleep. We get woken up by half the nurses that stay behind to watch OUR and their own patients.

* Then, we look after theirr patients when they go to sleep.

* Result: everyone is happy, gets along, no one writes no one up, everyone feels much better in the morning.

I"ve had one night in the last two years where I didn't get any sleep and I felt like I would throw up by 6am. Not a very nice feeling. Imagine what that does to your body!

Please, why are you all writing each other up and treating each other so badly. There isn't only one way to be a good nurse, patients are just as safely taken care of here, as where you live.

:uhoh21:

Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.
How can you elude that possible lack of patient care (by sleeping while on duty) can not be the "topic at hand"? Why else would we have a problem with doing it?

By sticking to the topic at hand I mean, not calling each other self-righteous and then talking about the one who is calling us self-righteous. This type of talk contributes nothing. Agree with sleeping on the job, or not, just keep personal judgements about each other out of it. Understand? Thanks.

When you are on your unpaid break, the pt isn't "under your care", so it is a moot point. The pt is under the care of another person. If that was my loved one, I would be glad that the nurse had another extra hour of sleep and would be more alert later in the shift, therefore more vigilant.

Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.
When you are on your unpaid break, the pt isn't "under your care", so it is a moot point. The pt is under the care of another person. If that was my loved one, I would be glad that the nurse had another extra hour of sleep and would be more alert later in the shift, therefore more vigilant.

I think there have been some recent studies to actually validate this. Nappers are more productive due to increased alertness, etc. I just heard that on the news this week, but don't have a source, so don't quote me on that. ;)

I think there have been some recent studies to actually validate this. Nappers are more productive due to increased alertness, etc. I just heard that on the news this week, but don't have a source, so don't quote me on that. ;)

I believe I refer to it earlier in this venerable thread. It was a short article in a recent Nursing 2007 that cited a study that showed the benefits of napping for nightshifters.

Specializes in ICU.

Sleeping 2.5-3 hours per night during your shift? Maybe we should all move to Canada! :idea:

I have worked both days and nights. At my facility sleeping is strictly prohibited and people have gotten fired for doing it. If policy allowed, I wouldn't be totally against sleeping on our unpaid break as long as another nurse took responsibility for the patients. But, usually there is no time for a full break anyway! On the other hand, there is a day shift nurse on our unit who frequently leaves the unit for long periods of time and no one has any idea where she is, even when she is put in charge! This is in addition to her long lunch break. I don't see how that is going on when people are being fired for sleeping. Just my :twocents:

Specializes in ICU/ER/TRANSPORT.

Man sleeping at night... By gosh if I thought I could do it without getting canned, killing my pt's, losing my license or getting a bad rep. I'd curl up in the looker room and put myself in a self induced katamine state.

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