Battle of the Shifts!!!

greeniebean · Mar 19, 2009

i think every shift has those days where everything falls into place, ad others where you leave on the brink of tears. I just think people should be more understanding where i work. no shift is perfect! we all forget things sometimes. people at my facility fill out event statments if you so much as forget to put gait belts back in the drawers!

johnst10 · Mar 19, 2009

Got any solutions or just a funny story?

I can tell you that when I did work nights 1. I was a walking zombie and 2. I didn't sit on my butt too many nights. Working the day shift I could usually tell who the night nurse was just by the way the room looked. We had one nurse who NEVER picked the room up if they did a bath (a rare event indeed). There were washcloths and towels on the floor, I'd trip over the bed linen going to the far side to check lung sounds, the trash was overflowing. The funny part, in a really sad way, was that the pt didn't look bathed!!! :rolleyes: I really do think that the battle of the shifts is something I have encountered in every place I have worked. A mile in another's shoes and all that helps.

care_baer · Mar 20, 2009

I thought the whole purpose of this thread was to say that each shift works there bum off, so stop battling. When I come into work and I see that so and so is soaked my first thought is you must have drank a lot tonight, not the other shift obviously isn't doing there job. If garbages aren't taken out or the kitchen is a mess I think, Oh, they must have had a hard night. I think some people just like to complain. It doesn't matter were you work every shift is going to complain about every shift.

The most ridiculous thing I've seen is day shift complain about evening shift. They don't even work after evening shift, what do they have to complain about, they don't even see how they work.

jollydogg_RN, ADN, BSN · Mar 20, 2009

i work in an urology/orthopaedic unit as an extern (basically a tech role) and i work 7p-7a. its really all about what type of floor/setting you work in.

ive also covered day shifts. this is just my neutral third party info. day shift has much more activity and ground to cover, so with my experience, everyone is more uptight on day shift. night shift is a LOT more relaxed, laid back. but like i said, i work on a uro/ortho floor, so day OR night we have patients calling out for pain meds like nothing. there is no happy medium. you either have a peaceful night, or all hell breaks loose.

and i would laugh if any of the nurses tried to tell me to bathe a patient at night. lol. not unless they had a serious accident. if a patient has a few pieces of trash in the room and its not in anyone's way, i'll wait until 630am or 700am to pick them up. im not gonna be waking a patient to clean the room like i said, unless its a hazard to the nurse or its a patient safety problem, an ortho patient getting their rest (since they arent screaming in pain) is priority also.

JEisinger · Mar 26, 2009

No shift is easy. I currently work 11pm-8am. And patients do not sleep all night like the other shifts claim. There are only two of us on midnights taking care of 32 patients.

I have to take vitals (temp, BP, HR, Ox & Resp) and at the same time if a patient needs something I have to stop and make the patient comfortable or talk to the patient because they are scared and clean that patient, if needed.

At the same time the RN's keep asking if the vitals are done yet. And yes, patients poop at night time. I have to clean them up and yes give bed baths, then empty foleys, stock the linen carts (that are never stocked for me), pass fresh ice water, empty trash, we do change linend also and then do documentation.

Then in the morning, the day shift thinks that I haven't done anything all night long, because no call lights are going off (it doesn't dawn on them that maybe the patients are comfortable). They are more concerned about how many completes they are doing to have for the day. Some won't even walk the hall to get report from me. Or I get some that wait until five minutes before I'm supposed to leave and then they ask if I'm going to give report (which is supposed to be done at 7:30).

Neeter

jollydogg_RN, ADN, BSN · Mar 26, 2009

i never have a problem with giving report late. ill go to THEM or make sure i find them to give report, even if its while im walking

i dont screw around when im trying to get home to sleep!!