CNA night shift??

missnurse01, MSN, RN · Apr 19, 2013

At night you may have more sleeping pt's, but your workload is also way higher. Management figures you are doing less, so they give you more pt's. Fine if the night is okay, a nightmare if everyone is throwing up and having diarrhea. I have always done night shift, through many many years of schooling. You end up losing sleep, but otherwise gain hours!

MsKris_CarolinaGirl · Apr 19, 2013

I am a full time student and i work full time in a rehab/LTC facility on night shift. This is my first CNA job and I must admit that it has been quite a task. However I've been handling it much better than I thought I would have. I usually do have a higher patient load than the girls I day or evening shift would but I am also very thankful for the fact that I work on a rehab hall where most of my patients are asleep and don't need as much and the few changers I have I can manage all while getting some studying done. I usually get off work by 7 and the I'm in class by 8 and there until 12 or 1 everyday. It's hard work and takes a lot of discipline but I think if you feel like you can do it go for it. I didn't think I would make it but I've worked nights with up to 23 patients by myself and I've even worked the LTC hall which has 43 patients who are all changers and I've survived. I say go for it. I wish you all the best and congrats on your new job

babelinglove33 · Apr 23, 2013

I haven't started school yet (my pre reqs start next week) but I do work night shift as a CNA in my mind it CAN be more work, usually there is less employees so you have more patients so it can get crazy... but sometimes it's calm.

Sally Lou · Apr 23, 2013

It's not easy.

You will be picking up the slack of all the things that the 3-11 shift didn't do.

It will screw with your sleep schedule. I haven't worked since Oct and here i am at almost 2:30am still wide awake.

MommaTy · Apr 23, 2013

Yes night shift is the "easiest" shift. I worked all shifts and the easiest one is the night shift. Staying awake sometimes is the only downfall. The pay is better at night too!

lcraig0011 · Apr 23, 2013

I am a CNA and currently work evenings at a LTC facility. I think that after supper, it's go time! Everyone has to go to BR and bed at like 8! We have two girls per +\- 30 residents. We are working on becoming EDEN in the future but I might not be there that long.

i_love_patient_care · Apr 23, 2013

I've worked all three shifts, and to me night shift was the easiest on my body as far as lifting. It is hard to get used to the sleep schedule, which is probably the hardest part. The other thing is that at night some Residents can't sleep, and it's your job to try to keep tabs on them while taking care of 2-3 times the amount of people the day shift would take care of. Turning people in the bed, and toileting/changing them is not as bad as ADLs are during the day.

TurtleCat · Apr 24, 2013

I worked the night shift a couple of times when I was at the LTC facility. In my experience, it's easier than the other shifts, with a more relaxed and laidback atmosphere. For the most part, it's just checking on the residents every few hours and turning/changing as needed, up until the last 2-3 hours when you start getting everyone up for the day shift, that's when it gets a bit hectic. But all in all the easiest and lowest-stress of the three shifts imo.

sjbrk · Apr 25, 2013

I've worked all three shifts and nights are by far the easiest. The busiest night (and it does get busy) is not comparable to the busiest day.

I won't do nights during school bc I don't function well - with my schedule I would have to go to class after working all night, for 8 hours (meaning I have lecture for that long). No dice man.

If you can handle it, go for it. I WISH I could work nights. They're all I do during breaks. :)

Getting To Great · Apr 25, 2013

I currently work for a private hospital with the schedule of 3x per week for 7p-7a. I enjoy it with the exception of working with a whole bunch of miserable senior citizens who has been doing bedside nursing for 30 plus years, while I watch them eat their young (nurse graduates). Sad, but true.

Mewsin · Apr 26, 2013

I'm a student right now but I am a cca, I work full time nights. Nights are good as long as you're self-motivated. I am busy for my entire 12 hour shift starting with putting people to bed, getting laundry carts ready for the morning, cleaning up after the day staff. There are a lot of people, most are sleeping but I'm responsible to make sure everyone is dry in the morning, this means a lot of changes in the middle of the night. I want people to be looked after to my best ability, so I am on top of doing turns(q2h) and changes. Then to end our nights we have people who want to get up early and we get them up before we go.

It is easier on staff dynamics, not so many cooks in the kitchen.