CNA 3-11pm

virgo,student nurse, CNA · Jul 6, 2011

Well, I worked 3p-11p full time a while ago, and my day went kind of like this:

You get to your assigned floor, the phone rings and the nurse tells us how many people have to float and to what floors. If it is your turn to float, you proceed to that floor. Then we listen to report from nurses, answering call lights in between report, get our assignments, load up our linen carts, toilet those who need toileting, give nutrition shakes and snacks, get up who ever needs to get up for dinner, turn down the beds.

Dinner time around 5p-6p, assist those who go to the dining room, assist those who eat on unit. Pass out trays. VERY IMPORTANT never feed in the dining room without a nurse present, plenty of aides have gotten in trouble this way.

One aide usually stays in the unit dining room (depends on how big unit is), other aides go hand out plates to those who eat in their rooms.

Collect trays. Toileting, answering call bells, showering, turn and position q two hrs, prep for bed, evening nutrition shakes and snacks.

Your dinner break. Another aides break. Vital Signs, prep for bed, answering bells, turn and position. Empty all assigned rooms of filled garbage, especailly if there are adult briefs in the garbage, clean rooms of all supplies used, call bells in place, clean shower room up if you used, replace linen carts, LIGHTS OUT.

Busy shift, but you will get into a routine.

trillnurse7 · Jul 6, 2011

Oh okay!! Definitely sounds BUSY...but I'm sure I will be just fine! Tomorrow is my first day...I am a new CNA :-)

virgo,student nurse, CNA · Jul 6, 2011

Hope you have a good day, and a good CNA to shadow. Keep us posted.

fuzzywuzzy, CNA · Jul 6, 2011

The first couple hours are okay, then it gets freaking insane, and then the last couple hours are boring!

First shift lays a lot of people down for naps in the afternoon and when 2nd shift gets there they get everybody back up and changed/toileted, taking down beds as they go. You also walk the ambulatory people. Sometimes this can be done at the same time as everything else (like walking someone from the bed to the toilet), while others who can tolerate longer distances have to go out into the hall. I used to walk people when I worked on 2nd shift but I have my doubts about whether anyone else actually does it nowadays. Once that's done someone usually passes out water and another person does the vitals.

Depending on how fast you work, sometimes you have free time before dinner so this is when I would lay out all my supplies and catch up on things like nail care and whatever paperwork I can do. Where I work almost everyone eats supper in their rooms so you just make sure everyone is sitting in a chair with their table in front of them as you do your rounds and then you can pass out the trays more quickly. When they get there you pass out all the trays, feed the feeders and then walk around picking up trays and checking on people. Once all the trays are picked up aides start going on lunch break. This is the worst part of the night because you have to start the mad dash of putting everyone to bed and half the aides on the floor are gone so no one can help you with transfers. Normally most people start bugging you to go to bed as soon as they swallow that last bite of food so you have a ton of call lights and alarms going off as fall risks try to fling themselves into bed. At some point during this madness you need to take your own lunch break and where I work if you don't go on time people get mad. All your showers need to be saved for when every aide is back from break because they don't want you leaving the floor even more short-staffed to go give a bath. So that's a real PITA right there.

You get everyone on your assignment washed up (either in bed or on the toilet), put in a gown, mouth care done and tucked in. You should be fast and try to finish early because by the time you're done putting the last person to bed the first one will need to be turned and changed already. I used to try get all my people in bed by 8:30. If I put everyone to bed in a brief and laying on their left side with the foot of the bed raised, I could do a very quick set of rounds on everyone by changing the brief if necessary and pulling the pillow out. Then I'd sit down and do more paperwork and stock supplies. At 9:30 or 10 I'd do another round, which would take longer because I'd have to put everyone on their side again and make sure they were high in the bed and the room was neat and clean for 3rd shift. Then you'd have what seemed like hours of sitting around answering the occasional call light until the next shift showed up.

trillnurse7 · Jul 7, 2011

So TODAY is my first day....I'm pretty nervous!!!!

virgo,student nurse, CNA · Jul 7, 2011

Good Luck! Let us know how it goes.

trillnurse7 · Jul 17, 2011

Hi!! Sorry for the long delay!! I've been working since my first day except for this weekend! It's been going well...I've been training under a really great young lady. 3-11p shift is really not that bad. Our rush hour is from 3-6:30 just doing rounds, showers, and then serving dinner. After all that we start placing them in bed (majority of them want to go straight to bed.) The nurse starts passing med around 7:30-8 and from that point on till 11p we are kinda just on standby waiting for call lights or just checking on patients that we know needs to be changed. I really didn't know what to expect being that this is my very first CNA job...but I must say I am really enjoying it thus far...and it just confirms for me even moreso that nursing is the right career for me! I can't wait until I reach my ultimate goal!!

amybear · Jul 19, 2011

Thank you for sharing!!! It's nice to hear about a positive experience. I am a new cna about to start the 3-11 and reading the posts on this site has totally freaked me out!!!

Poi Dog · Jul 19, 2011

fuzzy and virgo summed it up nicely

yousoldtheworld · Jul 20, 2011

Hi!! Sorry for the long delay!! I've been working since my first day except for this weekend! It's been going well...I've been training under a really great young lady. 3-11p shift is really not that bad. Our rush hour is from 3-6:30 just doing rounds, showers, and then serving dinner. After all that we start placing them in bed (majority of them want to go straight to bed.) The nurse starts passing med around 7:30-8 and from that point on till 11p we are kinda just on standby waiting for call lights or just checking on patients that we know needs to be changed. I really didn't know what to expect being that this is my very first CNA job...but I must say I am really enjoying it thus far...and it just confirms for me even moreso that nursing is the right career for me! I can't wait until I reach my ultimate goal!!

I am SO JEALOUS of people who describe their 2nd shift experience like this. At my facility, we have 5-7 showers apiece to do, plus dinner lasts from 5:00 - 7:00...then we go to our lunch breaks, then we have to get 12-16 total care residents to bed between the hours of 7:30 and 10, as well as make sure everyone is dry before we leave. There isn't a moment that we're on standby.

karamarie91 · Jul 22, 2011

3-11 is call light city.