sleeping staff

OrthoNutter · Apr 21, 2003

Originally posted by karoline
My feeling is that if one cannot commit to staying awake, alert and available then they should work a different shift.

In a perfect world, I would agree with you. I'm one of those lucky people who can work whatever shift and still do my job. I don't need to sleep on nights....sometimes at 4am my brain gets a little fogged but I find the best thing to do is go outside in the freezing cold without a jacket. That usually wakes me up.

But I digress....lucky me, I work for the state. They give us NO choice when it comes to shifts. You either work all three on a rotating roster or you shift your keister to the private sector, which incidentally pays less. Money is important to a lot of people, so even though it may not suit their body clocks to be working all sorts of shifts, they do it for the differential and the public sector award pay rate. I continue to work public because I couldn't live on a part-time wage if I worked in the private sector. I'm just lucky that I can cope with the constant "back and forth" nature of a rotating roster.

Moonflower1206 · Apr 23, 2003

I was on orientation, new to the 7p to 7a shift....when I arrived at work, the RN I was supposed to orient with called in sick, and the RN that was on the unit said that she was 'too new' to have anyone orient with her, even just for one night.. i notified the supervisor about the situation, and she never got back to me....a travel nurse offered to help/orient with me that night....and I wasnt sure if that was against hospital policy, so i felt uncomfortable orienting with her, i basically just observed and helped out as much as i can....to sum it up...the RN that didnt help me out told the supervisor that i fell asleep in one of the back rooms....which was NOT true....on my break i had my eyes closed...what a rat

passing thru · Apr 23, 2003

HI Moonflower. It sure sounds like you two ggot off on the wrong foot. Do you think when you notified the supervisor about the situation....or tried to....that the RN thought you were going to complain and so she "beat you to the punch" by complaining about you first??

She doesn't sound like the kind of nurse I would want to work with...her first rejection would have been enough for me.

She could have made the best of it with you with the orienting business.

Some welcome , Huh ?

FsPilotMed1 · Apr 23, 2003

Hi all, just found this thread and thought I'd throw in my two cents, if I may....

I'm starting nursing school this fall, and I have quite a few nurses in my family, all who have encountered employees sleeping on the night shift. I find it disgusting and hard to believe that one would even consider sleeping while on the clock. I guess it just bugs me to think that I could be a patient in a hospital, and my nurse would be asleep should something happen in the middle of the night. I enjoy reading all of your opinions!

Dan

Purdue School of Nursing '06!

hollysunshine · Jun 15, 2003

Are you kidding me? So the night shift nurses get differential and get paid to sleep? As a day shift nurse, I'd like to know what additional benefits I'm going to receive.

sbic56, BSN, RN · Jun 15, 2003

Originally posted by hollysunshine
Are you kidding me? So the night shift nurses get differential and get paid to sleep? As a day shift nurse, I'd like to know what additional benefits I'm going to receive.

Maybe about 7 years longer to live.

https://allnurses.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=37956

I was a nurse on nights for 11 years and would never feel their job has any true benefit over day nurses! If that were the case I don't think there would be mainly night positions available. With all that extra money night nurses make and all, it's a wonder that days can keep their staff.

Even once I got myself acclimated to nights, it was never easy living in a day world. I have nothing but respect for night nurses. (Including the occasionally needed nap and all.)

fergus51 · Jun 16, 2003

AMEN to that! If nights were so easy then I don't know why there are so many nurses out there dying to get onto straight days positions!

TinyNurse, RN · Jun 16, 2003

oh geeze, as a new grad, that sorta makes me scared.

xoxo

Jen

sbic56, BSN, RN · Jun 16, 2003

Originally posted by TinyNurse
oh geeze, as a new grad, that sorta makes me scared.
xoxo
Jen

What's scaring you, Jen?

anonymous · Jun 28, 2003

I am a 3-11 nurse and always have been. Recently there were two 11-7 positions open due to the night nuses taking other jobs. As a result I got placed on that shift as a temporary fill in. What an eye opening experience. In as little as 45 minutes into the shift, the aides were already in a recline and sleep mode. I woke them up and kept them moving. The second night it was the same routine., sooooo we had a little mini inservice on the term "negligence" and the consequences of. I told them my brother-in-law was a prosecuting attorney and would love to represent the patients here at this facility. It is true that my brother-in-law is an attorney and has told me many horror stories related to nursing. Maybe that is why I am so conscience of the legal aspects of nursing. At any rate, by the third night, it was back to business as usual, clock in and find a spot to sleep. I told the DON that I would not and could not have anyone under my supervision sleeping. If i had to go into a court of law because of a patient injury due to negligence, I could not lie about the caregiver staff being asleep. It was my license that was at risk. I asked her to put me back on the 3-11 shift. At first she did not want to do it because they would have to use agancy to fill the nursing position on 11-7 and it would not be "cost effecient". I resigned and applied with other facilities. The DON then called and gave me my 3-11 shift back. I have not worked another 11-7 since. My heart went out to the patients. They needed to be turned and hydrated and cleaned. They needed to have their call lights within reach and siderails up. I always made rounds and made sure the siderails were up and call lights were within reach. Maybe I am just from the old school when nursing meant caring for the sick and the injured. I would want to know the people I entrusted my loved ones with would give them excellent care and meet their needs. Sleeping staff members can not hear someone climbing around bedrails, or standing by the bed in a puddle of urine at risk for falling, or spilling water when trying to get a drink. Then there are the patients that can't make a sound because of a trach, or the patient that has pulled at the iv tubing or the g/tube. Now both 11-7 positions have been filled and I haven't heard the two new nurses address the issue of the staff sleeping.

rebelwaclause, ASN, RN · Jun 28, 2003

ZZZzzzzzz.......

I_Love_Donuts · Jun 28, 2003

Ok, I feel bad now. I work 7pm-7am in onco/hem. bone marrow transplant ped. I don't need to sleep on nights but some of the other nurses I work with need their nap and I totally understand. I work in a very busy unit, always running (like all of you guys)...Due to the shortage of nurses here we are only 3 nurses(sometimes 4 when we're lucky enough to get a float) on night for 10 to 15 very sick kids. Some of them should be 1 to 1 but we can't. So we run and run and run and run...and get tired. And in order to be efficient some of my collegues need to take an hour nap. But as soon as they hear we're in trouble they get up, break over or not.