Day shift vs Night shift...the battle continues???

[massrn116]

I have been a nurse for 26 years. I have worked nights and now I work days. I am not sure what the mentality is on my floor but I am very disheartened with some of the people I work with, mainly the night people. They seem to expect that the "norm" in our 10 bed ICU is that the patient should sleep all night. Vented patients always seem to need lots more sedation than during the day. Confused, elderly always seem to get maximum doses of ativan and haldol. I have had the occassion to have to rotate to nights with this group of nurses. The work load on days is much more than on nights. When I worked nights I would do am care on at least one of my patients because I knew what the day shift was facing.

My biggest disappointment in one of them came this week. I had a patient going to the OR at 8am and I knew she would be called for at 7am, I passed off the information in report and knowing that the patient would not receive morning care unless perhaps I asked for it to be done, I did and it wasn't. The unit that night had 8 patients, four nurses and one tech. When I arrived for my shift, the tech was sitting back in a chair with her eyes closed, the whole "air" in the unit was quiet and tranquil. When I asked the nurse why she could not freshen up the patient (PM care is also lacking where I work) she said she "forgot." No, I think she is was just lazy. Why is it that we on days with 4- 5 nurses, ten patients and one tech we can manage to wash two patients a piece, do the EKG's, go for tests, handle 98% of the orders, the families, weaning patients from vents, transfer and admit, etc and nights thinks a busy night is when their patient calls more than once? Do others have any of this going on?

[WalkieTalkie, RN]

We do all of our baths at night unless the patient is alert/oriented and not on the vent or sedation. Even then, I do those types of patients' (usually people ready to transfer, post-op CABGs, etc) baths around 0530 and get them up to the chair if they so desire at that time. We rarely leave baths to be done on days unless the patient specifically requests.

I do agree that patients should be allow to sleep at night when at all possible, and there have been studies to show that this is better for them. I will typically cluster my baths around the times I have to wake them up for something else.

[melz34]

night nurses do work hard i work nights and love it i am always working and never stop i work on a peadiatric childs unit

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

Well, if you all of that going on then yes, the patient needs to sleep sometime. :)

But I understand because I worked nights for 13 years and day shift for the last 4 and see both sides. Just a little help from night shift would make the day go better.

[nursemary9, BSN, RN]

I worked Night Shift for over 30 years. I can't speak for your co-workers, but we work incredibly hard on my unit at night. I work Hem/Onc/Renal.

We let people sleep as much as possible; however, we also do plenty of the AM Cares to help the day shift. When necessary, we also do the AM Vital signs for day shift.

I know our floor is not an ICU, but, nite shift is nite shift.

Sorry you work with such inconsiderate staff.

I work day shift now & can't believe how incredible the staff is!!! I'm in awe!!!