Day shift vs. Night shift in Oncology

Nitengale326 · Jul 18, 2006

I work nites and 12 hour shifts on ONC... (7p-7a). Sometimes it can get VERY hectic but for the most part it is pretty laid back. Very few meds are given... a few pain meds ( most have PCA's) and a few antibx. We rarely run chemo overnight unless its something like 5FU. Due to the sheer number of resources that are available during the day vs the night, our docs and our manager prefers that most chemo be given during the day. It also allows the family to be available and present when the anxiety levels are higher. We have 10 beds on our unit. 8 are in private rooms and we encourage families to stay overnight in the private rooms. They help out alot! I personally let the family member know I am there for them as well. I give them footies, coffee, heated blankets, etc. I spoil them just like I would my patients. They are so appreciative and in doing these little things, it eases their anxiety as well and their nit picking and micro controlling because everything else is out of control. You will have some folks that will become lifelong friends!

Hope this helps...

wanda

Bevy02 · Jul 21, 2006

I just started as an nurse on an oncology unit and work both days and pm's. I haven't experienced nights yet but I have noticed that towards the end of the shift on pm's things tend to quiet down a lot. The day shift can be pretty busy!

starbucksRN · Jul 26, 2006

i started work on a medical oncology unit on night shift after i graduated. as nitengale stated it can be crazy but is pretty laid back. you don't get as much experience with hanging the chemo like you do on day shift. i did 2.5 years of night shift before going to days. both shifts have their pros and cons. you definately will want to join the oncology nursing society and the local ons chapter in your area for lots of educational benefits. good luck :lol2:

tinderbox · Aug 12, 2006

Wow! When I was in the float pool and frequently had to float to the BMT floors, I was ALWAYS busy! I am not chemo-certified, so I never hung chemo, but I saw the regular nurses of that floor hanging chemo all the time during night shift. Plus we did our A.M. blood draws at midnight, not at 0500-0600 like the other floors. After the lab results came in, usually by 0200, we'd start getting blood and/or other replacements ready to hang. We usually didn't have cnas and if we did, they were almost always sitters, so we had to do our own VS and Is/Os. As for meds, there were always a lot to give, mostly during 2100 and also 0400.

I was busy busy busy..

valkyria, BSN, RN · Mar 17, 2008

everything is relative. down here in south florida sccc, i worked days and nights. nights were alot tighter as far as the way the nurses stuck together and covered for each other. i liked that but i did not belong to that"group". days were very hectic and i could not get as close to my patients as i wanted to get. 20 rooms with 2 beds each, 2 private rooms and 1 room with 4 beds in it(kinda like an onco icu).the night shift were divided between old die hard onco nurses who were too tired or too stubborn to go anywhere else and nurses who were in school or did something else during the day. and days were new nurses who idealized onco nursing, veterans from nyc, nj and tx who could be a nurse anywhere and make it look easy and a few politicians who wanted not to rock the boat. but each organization has their own culture and you have to try it and not have preconceived ides. good luck whatever path you chose.

sunnydaydream · Mar 18, 2008

Wow! When I was in the float pool and frequently had to float to the BMT floors, I was ALWAYS busy! I am not chemo-certified, so I never hung chemo, but I saw the regular nurses of that floor hanging chemo all the time during night shift. Plus we did our A.M. blood draws at midnight, not at 0500-0600 like the other floors. After the lab results came in, usually by 0200, we'd start getting blood and/or other replacements ready to hang. We usually didn't have cnas and if we did, they were almost always sitters, so we had to do our own VS and Is/Os. As for meds, there were always a lot to give, mostly during 2100 and also 0400.
I was busy busy busy..

I have to agree with you tinderbox. I had five weeks of orientation on day shift for the BMT unit I work and we were busy but now that I am on night shift we are still super busy. You can't learn as much from the docs at noc because they are not there, but you use critical thinking a lot because no one is there at night (docs) to see what they would do. We don't have cna's, I'm always giving some kind of med whether it be pain/nausea/ or IV antibiotic. Plus it seems that the pt's spike temps more at night which means blood cultures and ordering cxr etc. Along with blood draws, hanging blood, sometimes giving cells because the transporter was late.... It's educational either way :)

GrumpyRN63, ADN, RN · Mar 19, 2008

Welcome to Oncology!! I have always found nocs to be busy, yet mostly manageable. You have less support staff and contrary to what people think, pt's don't sleep a lot. You will continue to learn a lot, our docs are always on the floor all noc, and you may actually get a chance to read the charts, talk with your pts, look up test results, etc.

nursemae · Mar 27, 2008

Hello! I have only been working on the Onc floor for 2 months now, on nights, but so far I've been pretty darn busy! We give a lot of chemo and blood products 24 hours a day, nights are no exception. I give a LOT of medication - antibiotics, antiemetics, steroids, and oodles of PRN analgesics. I have had few nights so far where any of us got to take much of a break!

From reading the previous comments, I'd say it must depend on where you are! :)