Coworkers that SLEEP on the job....arrrggghh!!!

Nurses Relations

Published

:banghead:

Okay, here's the thing...it happened where I worked before, (nothing was done)

it's happening where I work now, (the bosses know and don't do anything) and there's really

NOTHING I can do about it, but I just need to VENT!!

It is SO annoying and infuriating to me that some of my coworkers get away with SLEEPING while sitting

upright in a nurse's station, *OR*, even better, they sneak off somewhere for a little nap.

SOME charge nurses make them clock out and go home, but most do not. Where I used to work,

ONE time caught sleeping was IMMEDIATE termination; but again-----they let it slide many times.

I walk the hallways, I slam down coffee, I go chat with people on other floors, I offer to turn/ change

with the aides, I go listen to a patient who is lonely and wants to talk my ear off in the wee hours of

the night, I clean the breakroom......WHATEVER I can to stay awake! :yawn:

And NOW, OH. MY. GOSH.....when I didn't think it could get ANY worse, one of our new coworkers

is on her tiny iphone alllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll night long, playing online ------and NO ONE DOES

ANYTHING!!!

I would LOVE to nap and play online all night, but umm....it's NOT ALLOWED! I would be so EMBARRASSED

to be so unprofessional! I keep telling myself "get OVER it, life aint fair"!! But like I said, just wanted to

VENT and see how many of you have these same coworkers................UGH!!!:banghead:

Specializes in Medsurg/ICU, Mental Health, Home Health.

I have worked 7P-7A for years, and have learned that being well rested prior to that shift is an art form.

One time I recall not getting any sleep - feeling like I couldn't even drive to work without falling asleep (and it was still daylight @ 6PM!) so I deemed myself unsafe and called out prior to the cutoff time. If I wasn't safe to drive, I didn't want to be caring for people!

And one night I was just dragging...starting to come down with a viral illness, and I used my half an hour unpaid break to nap in our unoccupied dayroom. I set my alarm, told my my coworkers what I was doing and where I would be, and boy howdy that half an hour was AMAZING! I thank God because I rarely actually take a nonstop half hour for my break and that night I got it!

I did work with a tech who took the full time 11p-7a job because she honestly thought she COULD sleep. But what she never thought of was the possibility of our security cameras catching her sleeping outside of the elevators!

I know I could never be an 11p-7a safety sitter, because I would go nuts. I know I'd fall asleep after a few hours if I was just watching the patient sleep. When I've relieved sitters I've struggled! But people who take this job MUST be adept at not falling asleep sitting up. I know of one sitter who routinely fell asleep, and when he had my patient, I "tripped" over his shoe while doing rounds. Whoops! It's dark in here, ya know?

But this isn't limited to nights. One tech was fired after management couldn't take him falling asleep while charting his vitals every day at 2 PM!

As for the iPhone issue, if your work is done and you're basically sitting at the desk waiting for callbells to ring or whatever, I don't think it matters what you do as long as you're available. If playing with your phone keeps you from seeing your patients, though, that is a completely different story!

Specializes in geriatrics.

I work permanent nights. I sleep all day. Either sleep during the day or don't work nights. Sleeping at work is unacceptable, especially if you are the only nurse on duty. Anything can and WILL happen at night.

Specializes in LTC.
We agree to disagree! If you can work your entire shift without a nap, then more power to you, sister. Do you work nights? It's hard to stay awake when the floor is dead quiet, patients are sleeping, and there's nothing to do. So take a nap, I say.

NOTHING to do?????? Nothing at all?

NOTHING to do?????? Nothing at all?

Maybe it's the morgue :D

old post. but where are thse jobs where nights shift has time to sleep? not where I work. nights is often busier than day shift ( i work both so i know it)........ we have a lot less staff at night, the patients seem to never sleep. either at night or during the day.

Specializes in Gen Med.

Sleeping on the job I unacceptable and very dangerous. While the nurse is getting a long winters nap the others who are awake and doing their job has to pick up the slack. I had a patient pass away and the family had to walk on the other side of our unit to tell staff they were leaving because that same nurse was sleeping in front of the deceased patients room. Not professional

I worked the night 7p-7a and 11p-7a shift for 9+ years (and a few years of day shifts when I could swing it). I've seen the gambit worked at placed with a no sleeping policy and caught once you were escorted out the door, at places it wasn't allowed but everyone looked the other way, and I've been lucky enough to work at a facility where sleeping on your break was encouraged and a room with bed/locked door with an alarm were provided.

I can say 99% of the time when I worked nights I was well rested and could go my entire shift without a yawn, but on the occasion that life happened I was useless unless I got a quick set of zzzz's in. I don't understand the controversy over napping. There have been multiple studies demonstrating the benefits of shift workers napping during their breaks to increase productivity. And I know of at least one study that specifically involved night shift nurses, that demonstrated that taking a quick cat nap left the nurses refreshed, more productive, and less likely to have errors when compared to nurses who stayed awake the entire shift. Not to mention years of evolution have hard wired our bodies to sleep at night, constantly fighting our own bodies doesn't always work. If a system is in place that allows night shift workers to nap in a safe way so patients don't suffer I say go for it.

That being said working in the facilities where napping was a no no I would never nap, resorting to excessive caffeine, snapping rubber bands on my wrists, ice behind my neck..... anything just to keep my eyes open. I can honestly say on those rare occasions that the 2 am slump happened it would have been better and safer for my patients if I had been allowed to get a 20 min nap to refresh myself. (BTW those were the occasions that I would honestly nap in my car for 30 min before driving home). Oh and it does burn me when I see someone nodding off at the desk, watching monitors, or when they are supposed to be watching a patient. If its that bad get someone to cover a break for you, or go home.

p.s. its not just the "older" nurses that need a nap, I'm in my 20's, we all need sleep.

I got sick as a dog on night shift one night and really should have gone home. The nap I took on the couch in the foyer during my combined lunch and regular breaks made the difference in me being able to complete the shift.

it doesn't bother me if someone naps on their break at night, we get an hour and 45 minutes total, some group it together and take a longer break and nap, others, like me, take a couple of shorter breaks, but i may still doze off for it.

i don't see people dozing off at the desk and i think its because we take our breaks and refresh ourselves with a quick nap.

of course the understanding is that if something comes in then we go and get them. some staff go home for their breaks, seems no different to me than having a quick nap and not being available.

an hour and 45 minutes break?! wow. when i worked nights (12 hour shift), we got 30 minutes to eat (rarely ever happened) and two ten minute breaks (never happened).

we were so busy, i cannot imagine having the time to sleep as some are describing here.

Specializes in LTC.
Maybe it's the morgue :D

Ohhh well that would explain the "dead quiet" part!

Specializes in Medsurg/ICU, Mental Health, Home Health.
Maybe it's the morgue :D

But isn't that when the graverobbers come around?

One night after being mandated from evening to noc, my CN told me to go and sleep in the break room even though it was not my break. His reasoning? He needed me to have energy for the upcoming rounds or else I would be useless. I remember the words, "You look like he!!," were thrown in as well.

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