Day in the life?

medsurgrnco, BSN, RN · Jul 3, 2008

A typical night shift or day shift?

inthesky · Jul 3, 2008

15 patients want their meds and want them NOW. :sasq:

just kidding, sort of =P I like psych, my current job just sucks. That's the day of psych med nurse =P

linda2097 · Jul 3, 2008

A typical night shift or day shift?

Either please.

medsurgrnco, BSN, RN · Jul 3, 2008

Typical night shift:

1900-2000 Shift report

2000-2200 Meds & Assessments

2200-0530 Documentation of assessments, nurses notes, chart checks, MARS checks, other documentation. PRN meds. Calming agitated patients. Prepare for shift report & AM labs.

0530-0700 AM Labs & Meds

0700-0730 Shift report

Admits take 3 hours or more, so a busy night if I have an admit. An easy night if no admits and all pts are calm.

Hope this is what you were looking for.

linda2097 · Jul 3, 2008

Thank you.

Jules A, MSN · Jul 4, 2008

Typical night shift:
1900-2000 Shift report
2000-2200 Meds & Assessments
2200-0530 Documentation of assessments, nurses notes, chart checks, MARS checks, other documentation. PRN meds. Calming agitated patients. Prepare for shift report & AM labs.
0530-0700 AM Labs & Meds
0700-0730 Shift report
Admits take 3 hours or more, so a busy night if I have an admit. An easy night if no admits and all pts are calm.
Hope this is what you were looking for.

:yeahthat:

rn4ever? · Jul 5, 2008

It depends on the shift. I used to work the second shift (starts at 3 pm) and it was the busiest in my opinion. I started then with counting the narcs then getting report. The new orders are already waiting for you on the rack (because most orders come out at this time) so you have to verify them all in the computer. Then before meals you make sure that you do the finger stick of diabetic patients and give out the insulin. Then you pass the 5 pm meds. In between, PRNs may also be given and you may also be swamped with admissions---which on the average takes about 45 minutes. You call the physician for admission orders too. Then you pass the 9 pm meds. If someone has an "emergency" like chest pain, then you also page the physician and make sure appropriate medical care is given and Stat orders are done. You finish up your notes. Write on the report sheet for the next shift. Make sure the chart checks are complete. Next shift comes.....we do the narc count again.....Hooray.....the shift is over!

rn4ever? · Jul 5, 2008

I literally worked all the shifts that you can imagine in our adult in-patient unit, and I would say that the night shift (11pm-7am) is the quietest one. Patients are asleep (except of course at certain times wherein there are agitated patients who can't and won't sleep). No med passes except for PRNs. But of course you gotta stay awake.

Wildwood Flower · Jul 5, 2008

:chuckle

Would any psych RN be kind enough to describe a typical shift? Thank you very much.

I'm not sure if you could call this a day in the life of or a rant but here is a different take from what the others have posted.:(I came on duty to 3 admissions that had just arrived with one on the way and one to assess in ER, which we accepted :no:so there was the fun stuff of calling dr to see if he would accept, calling er letting them know we were going to accept, calling insurance to precert,calling dr back to get orders,notifying er to send on up, calling admissions getting the rm no. in and all that junk:D.This was going on while my co-worker was venting and 3 pts on the unit were wandering behind the desk, exit seeking and fighting with us while another one walked approx 20 ft to request we cover her up !,Another pt chose the same time to start throwing her belongings including a chair at us , along with a box of chocolates{which we kept and ate out of revenge} {no not really but the thought occured}. we called dr, got im meds, gave, got some calmed down andwent to work on everything. Got report at 9:35 , worked all night playing catch up and stayed over 2hrs after my shift was over. No lunch break, no pee break, , didn't even get a drink. There was only 2 nurses and a tech on duty while all this was happening and oh by the way ; this was the quiet 7PM -7AM shift that some nurses are happy to tell you is the best!?

medsurgrnco, BSN, RN · Jul 5, 2008

Forgot to mention that night shift has to double-check much of day nurses' work and stick labels on multiple documentation sheets since day nurses don't think they have the time to do that.

medsurgrnco, BSN, RN · Jul 5, 2008

I literally worked all the shifts that you can imagine in our adult in-patient unit, and I would say that the night shift (11pm-7am) is the quietest one. Patients are asleep (except of course at certain times wherein there are agitated patients who can't and won't sleep). No med passes except for PRNs. But of course you gotta stay awake.

What sleeping meds does your MD prescribe? Recently many of our patients are awake much of the night, wandering around and making multiple demands on staff, so that it is hard to properly supervise patients and get the other work done.