sleeping staff

Nurses Safety

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It's incredible! just went down stairs to use their xerox machine and everyone of their staff members is sound asleep, all wrapped up in blankets and "Mouth Wide Open." They just don't care about why they are here. Should something happen....................I pity them! I'm sure they'd cover it all up somehow. I am so glad I don't work with that crew... This is on a nightly basis! You'd think someone would want to be alert and functioning. Snoozing is one thing, but not everyone at the same time...

"Hello?," the clue phone...it's for you!"

Last year sometime there was a nursing home in MS where the whole entire night shift (nurses, aides, etc.) was sleeping. The state came in on a surprise visit during one of these nights and found these people had even charted all the way up to 7am when the next shift came on. It's my understanding the whole home was closed down.

I don't know if I could sleep on the job and feel right about it... of course, I don't think I'm night-shift material anyway so I can't (at this point) see myself in that position. I do good to stay up til 10pm... and this whole timechange has my bedtime messed up! :(

Specializes in cardiac, diabetes, OB/GYN.

We have one or two..I feel like I am robbing the place and have to keep busy. It does bug me that these people are basically robbing the joing by sleeping and getting paid....

Originally posted by Dplear

I take my breaks. I am entitled to them and have earned them. It is stupid to be so self sacraficing and altruistic as to not take care of yourself.

I did take care of myself. I quit that job and will no longer work where it is impossible to take a break. It wasn't "self sacrificing and altrusitic."

Here's what is was: totally unreasonable pt load and sick pts. Nevertheless, as a nurse, I am reponsible for my pts. I did what had to be done to ensure adequate pt care.

I cannot take my break if the acuity level, number of pts and poor staffing makes it unsafe to do so. Even though I am legally entitled to a break, I am also legally responsible for my pts.

IMHO, any nurse (or anyone else) who sleeps on the job is a slacker.

When I was an LPN, I worked w/ an RN who slept every noc, leaving me w/ the entire floor to care for all by myself.

Because of her actions, she caused pts to suffer.

I know, I saw it, and I was the one trying to shake her lazy @$$ awake.

I also worked w/ an alcholic RN on days who slept off her hangovers. This was at a private inpt hospice unit. She has since lost her license in an unrelated matter. I was fool enough to cover for her and others who slept on the job at one time, but never will again.

Talked to a close friend on the phone last noc.

Just this week, she called her DON in the middle of the noc to report co-workers sleeping. The DON came in, caught and fired them on the spot. GOOD FOR HER.

I have worked in busy area's. But 90% of the time, we still got the time for a break. If I feel that the ward is not adequatley staffed on certain nights or when it's particularly busy etc etc, I may not get a break. So shoot me for being human and getting the break I am entitled to by law and sleeping during it. I have never yet met any night staff who have had a problem with other night staff sleeping on their breaks.

TraumaRU: It's not about "how things work in the UK", it's about being human and having your body clock so messed up, you no longer actually HAVE a body clock! :)

Specializes in Obstetrics, M/S, Psych.

If the sleeping is occurring during breaks, (combining 15 minute breaks and half hour to = an hour), wouldn't you all say that is acceptable?

If not...then why?

Sometimes nurses can be martyrs. To say no sleeping what so ever is punitive at best. Be sensible, be sure your patients care comes first, but realize it is actually smart to take advantge of the opportunity to get some rest. The night shift is a killer. Studies show full time nights takes 7 years off the average life span of a career night shift worker. It IS unique. It is not like working the day shift. It is abnormal to push you body to the point of exhaustion which sometimes happens as night workers still need to live in a day time world. Responsibility is one thing, but it is OK to take care of ourselves, right?

Originally posted by sbic56

If the sleeping is occurring during breaks, (combining 15 minute breaks and half hour to = an hour), wouldn't you all say that is acceptable?

If not...then why?

Sometimes nurses can be martyrs. To say no sleeping what so ever is punitive at best. Be sensible, be sure your patients care comes first, but realize it is actually smart to take advantge of the opportunity to get some rest. The night shift is a killer. Studies show full time nights takes 7 years off the average life span of a career night shift worker. It IS unique. It is not like working the day shift. It is abnormal to push you body to the point of exhaustion which sometimes happens as night workers still need to live in a day time world. Responsibility is one thing, but it is OK to take care of ourselves, right?

Here, Here!

i never believed that this went on when i was in school. now is realize that it does. save up all the breaks and take them all at once. some places i have worked, this is 2 hours, per nurse, and they all cover for each other. if the super comes by they say, oh she just went to the break room, even though it was over an hour before. i have done doubles from pm's, but i don't work nights. the reason is that i can't stay awake for the entire night, and if i take a one hour nap (all my breaks rolled into one) i would just get up with a bad headache. i feel bad for night nurses, i couldn't do it myself, but i don't know what the answer is.....zzzzz

I am sorry, but this sleeping on the job is a bunch of horse hocky. It does not matter whether you are on your break or not, you are a professional and should act like one. I have been in nursing for 26 years and have never in all of those years gone to sleep while at work. I have been called back to work at 11 pm after working all day to cover the night shift and did not fall asleep. When you take the night shift job, you are given a list of your job duties and sleeping is not on it. It is not the responsibility of the other nurses to cover you while you nap. Where I worked, you were responsible to punch back in from your break if an emergency came up. How alert would you be is someone had to wake you up? If you get a job working at night, make sure that you get your sleep before going to work, because work is not the place to sleep.

Specializes in Everything but psych!.

When I worked in the OR, there was round the clock staffing, including noc shift. It was a well-known fact to those people who work noc shift that they would hustle and get their work done, pull all the cases for the next day, and then settle down to a 2-3 hour nap.

One fine noc, the nurse manager decided to pay a surprise visit at 0330. She found two sleeping in the lounge, and one guy, who was about 6'2"....sleeping on the cystoscopy table! I still get a chuckle when I think about someone sleeping, all curled up in a fetal position, on a short cysto table! In the OR! :chuckle

Needless to say, things changed

"I don't want to have to wake someone up to give us a hand."

"I am sorry, but this sleeping on the job is a bunch of horse hocky. It does not matter whether you are on your break or not, you are a professional and should act like one"

See, people do mind others sleeping on their breaks, that's what annoys me! If it is their time you should mind your own business. If studies show it refreshes nurses and makes them more alert, then I don't see how people can complain it is unprofessional! My time is my time and if I feel like dancing a jig in the cafeteria that's my business.

Specializes in Obstetrics, M/S, Psych.
If it is their time you should mind your own business. If studies show it refreshes nurses and makes them more alert, then I don't see how people can complain it is unprofessional! My time is my time and if I feel like dancing a jig in the cafeteria that's my business.

Exactly, fergus. What other profession do you have to be so loyal to the company as to allow them to dictate what you do when off duty?

I wish I knew sbic56! There seems to be this attitude among nurses that we should suck up any crappy working conditions (including lack of breaks and crazy ratios) and that those who do are better nurses. Self sacrifice seems to be glorified in the field and just seems ridiculous to me. The "professionals" (doctors, lawyers and such) are not frowned upon for wanting good conditions, but among nurses it's somehow bad to have anything good at work (like your own break time).

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