How many people do you have to wake up at night?

Specialties Geriatric

Published

I am working part-time at LTC. We have about 10 residents who have to be awakened at night for their weekly skin checks. This is in addition to the 10 dressing changes that are scheduled for night shift. I am curious about the other LTC's. How many residents do you have to wake up at night to do skin checks, dressing changes etc? Thanks :)

We have very few meds on third shift to pass. The docs write all the eyedrop and inhaler treatments as q4hours...while awake. That way noone gets woken needlessly. We do some skin checks on third, but only for people we are getting changed. We don't wake anyone up for them. We do however have S/P tube flushes/changes on 3rd as well as any spec collections :)

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Ah, yes, I have 6-7 skin checks 5 nights a week. We have about 5 tx's, and my med pass starts at 0330. Yes, it is unreal. I got the response "We are trying to help out the dayturn pass, so now all the G-tube meds are in the am." We have 5 tubes, and they each have 15 meds a piece!!! We also have lab at 0400. And on top of it all, I am the only nurse on my wing for 36 pts. So if 1 thing goes wrong, I will be way behind!

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I am working part-time at LTC. We have about 10 residents who have to be awakened at night for their weekly skin checks. This is in addition to the 10 dressing changes that are scheduled for night shift. I am curious about the other LTC's. How many residents do you have to wake up at night to do skin checks, dressing changes etc? Thanks :)

recent research shows skin integrity improves with adequate sleep

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Specializes in Gerontology, Med surg, Home Health.
recent research shows skin integrity improves with adequate sleep

EVERYTHING improves with adequate sleep!!!

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I hope I never have to put my mother in a nursing home. If I do have to I will have the doctor write a specific order saying "Do not awaken during the night for meds, Tx's, skin checks etc." I wonder how the families would feel if they found out that their Mom or Dad are being awakened during the night. :angryfire :o

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I have quit my part-time night shift job at the LTC. I had taken a few days off and came back to work. The nurse managers had added even more night shift treatments and skin checks for night shift!!! :angryfire :angryfire

Anyway, I'd had enough. I never had time for even a 15 minute break before they added even more stuff!!! And they wonder why they can't find nurses for night shift????? I am so happy that I don't have to wake up people all night long anymore.

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I have quit my part-time night shift job at the LTC. I had taken a few days off and came back to work. The nurse managers had added even more night shift treatments and skin checks for night shift!!! :angryfire :angryfire

Anyway, I'd had enough. I never had time for even a 15 minute break before they added even more stuff!!! And they wonder why they can't find nurses for night shift????? I am so happy that I don't have to wake up people all night long anymore.

lucky dog!!! :p

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We had orders for crazy things like, saline nasal spray, oral lubricant, Liquid tears, all at 0100. Unbelievable. Of course we usually mark the med as "held," reason being, "He's sleeping!" I used to have to wake a pt up at 0400 for a fleet enema every morning except Wednesdays and Saturdays. If someone came near me with an enema at 4am, they'd be literally getting it themselves!!! We still have a few tx's to do, but I wait until 6 or so when they're AWAKE.

Our facility recently changed the hrs of bowel regimen. Now, days gives out the MOM, evenings next with the supp. and night shift is to give the fleets enema if no results. It's crazy to wake up a resident in the middle of the night for this! Sometimes, I have 6 pts on the list. You can't wait until near the end of shift to do them because you don't have the time. Too busy with med pass, finger sticks, charting etc.....So, you really have to give the fleets around 4am...............

We also have a good amt of treatments on night shift. Also, with the weekly body checks..........we already do a body check on their shower day but once a week on nights we do "foot checks"...aren't feet part of body check??? Makes no sense.

We also had passed on to night shift more and more paperwork. Monthly summaries have been put on nights, ofcourse all the lab reqs are for nights to fill out, all st. caths done on nights......I say that when a nurse gets the order for labs, they should fill out the lab req. Seems like we are doing more and more labs......some nights just on one unit of 30pts, we'll have 15 labs!!!

Nights is not a piece of cake to work. We all hear the stories where others think those who work nights sit on their behind all night and don't do much unless something happens. Yeah right!!

OK, sorry this it turning into a rant,lol..........so I will sign off now,lol

JUDE :Melody:

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I'm learning that there is the "proceedural way" and then there is the pracical way....what a difference.

No treatments are done 11-7 unless it's a new skin tear that needs to be steri-striped. All our skin checks are done weekly on shower days which are 7-3 or 3-11. Have to agree about the times for Synthroid. Our local hospital still gives Synthroid at 8 or 9, but our consultant is a fanatic about empty stomach. Do y'all think these people are going to set their alarm clocks at home to take their meds?!?
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Please excuse my spelling/typing....I've been up all night working. Nosebleed

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Specializes in designated med nurse,med surg,hh, peds.

I recently started in a ltc facility here in Illinois on the night shift.

I have 60 residents with 3 cna's. We have at least 45 residents with some form of confusion,with personal alarms and bed alarms. I have 4 foley flushes to do, one resident gets straight cathed twice on my shift, and i have to pass meds to anywhere between 25 to 35 residents (depending on the day, we have what I call Fosamax Friday). I have at least 5 treatments on any given night, and am always being asked to "pass something along" for days to do (3 - 11 has 3 nurses, 1 desk, 2 floor),or my personal favorite,"Mrs. So & So needs her annual tb test,we didn't get to it you have to do it" (Remember 3 nurses on afternoons, 1 nurse on nights). Then we get to the treatment sheets and MARs. Has anyone else seen this going on?IE: My shift STARTS at 11pm on Jan.2. I need an O2 sat on a resident for the 11-7 shift.( I usually have my vitals done BEFORE midnight so I can have baseline vitals on these people, and occasionally I will have a resident that gets a blood pressure med q8h, so their vitals ARE done before midnight. ) What I have run into is that I am being told to record the O2 sat that I got at 11:05pm on Jan.2 in the 11-7 space on the Jan.3rd spot.

When I went to nursing school (15 yrs.ago), I was taught NEVER to chart ahead. The rational I get is that we are charting for when the shift ENDS. Isn't that charting ahead?What if the patient has to be sent out to the hospital, or dies before midnight ? Just curious.Sorry I went on and on

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Specializes in too many to remember.

As far as I know I believe it is an actual LAW in Iowa that a resident cannot be mandated to get up before 0600. As for meds, tx's, etc. that is another story. I think placing all eyegtts, tx's, skin checks on 11-7 is stupid. Even if it is the resident's preference to get up before 0600 it has to be care planned.

I used to joke with my husband (also an RN) that if you had someone care planned that you would wipe thier nose 2-3 time a shift and the state surveyor saw you wipe their nose 4 times, you were non compliant.

Stupid, stupid, stupid. And people wonder why I left LTC after 9 years!

Harleygirl

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