Debunking the night shift myths

[abbaking]

AHH!! I am so fed up with people thinking that the night shift is not busy and that all our patients are asleep!!! THIS IS NOT TRUE. In my entire career in Nursing I have noticed that patients are RARELY admitted during AM shift change (0600-0700) but that a majority come up from the ED or PACU during the hours of 1800-1900. Night shift is busy in its own way and that you need to rely on the limited number of people working in the hospital at night. It seems to me that AM shift takes it for granted that they have X-RAY, Lab, Dietary, Pastor on site during the day whereas we on nights we have to make do with the VERY VERY limited staff available. But then again, "All our patients are asleep so we don't need extra support staff" - (sarcasm). And is not just nurses who think we are sitting down drinking coffee and eating dunkin donuts - People in general think that night shifts in any profession (Police, Supermarkets, Firefighters, EMT's) are slow and that the staff are slackers.

I just am so tired of people thinking I chose NOC shift tyo sit on my butt and drink coffee. Recently I didnt get to START charting my 2000 assessments until 0130 - it was that insanely busy!

[mycatmax]

I too work nights, and what you said is very true!

[trmr]

hey I know all about that night shift. Not to mention that's also usually when the crazy get crazier, and in my opinion, if something is going to go wrong, it'll be on night shift. I agree that the day crew doesn't always understand what night shift is all about. They should work in the night shifts shoes a few times. I actually switch every week, I do nights and days so I can relate to both.

[love_being_an_aide]

Amen to that! I work nights as an aide in the hospital, and I feel incredibly bad for our nurses. The day shift thinks they have it so hard, and they have 8-9 nurses on the floor, while the night shift has three. And what irritates me is that the day shift has a nurse who sits down and checks the charts and phones the doctor, and they have a charge nurse who helps do the assessments, while the night shift is getting pushed more and more paperwork because days is to busy! And myself and another aide are having to do all the work that 5 aides gets to do during the day, and check on the IV's for the nurses because they have no time!

[donsterRN, ASN, BSN]

I've been there, and I know what you're going through. It bites.

I'm sorry for you.

[*ac*]

Having recently done both, here's my observation:

Days and nights each have different types of stressors.

At night, it's the lack of support: secretary, aides, transport, easily accessible docs, etc. When pts go bad, you're on your own. Same with new admits. Also, there are some tasks that are expected to be done by nights no matter how busy. The same is not really true on days - if they are too busy, it's OK to pass it on to nights.

Days, those same accessible docs are there constantly writing new orders, needing to chart early d/t pt may be leaving any minute for a procedure, more annoying family around, more annoying managers around.

I think you need to work both to really get it.

[Spring152]

I have been a RN on nights 12 hr shifts for 4 years now and what you say is sooo true! Another advantage days has over nights is visiting hours usually doesn't start until 11am. So they have a few hours to assess, give meds, change dsg, etc without family and friends bothering you with every question under the sun. When I start my shift at 1900, there are a bunch of friends and family there and they bombard you with questions before you get to assess the pt!

Also the short staff issue causes me to run late almost everyday! The other week, I had 7 patients on a tele floor, no aide and no tech. So we had to do our own VS every 4 hrs, give meds, clean patients, and do the 7am BS checks. Plus a nurse had to transfer a pt to the unit because they went bad and transfer another pt to a med/surg floor to make room for 2 new admits and all of this happened around 4am. Then a day shift nurse was mad because my pt was going for surgery and they expect the pt to have a full bed bath. I just did not have time. I made sure the patient was cleaned, but a full bed bath with no help? Please..... And the day nurse had an orientee and 2 techs, 3 aides, and less pts. They just don't understand.

[Blee O'Myacin, BSN, RN]

I worked nights for a short time. I enjoyed how empty the halls were at 0200. We had patients who were there for awhile since it was a heme-onc ICU, so we had a few patients who had been night shifters themselves, so if they were well enough to go for their daily walk, it might be a 0400.

Since we ran our own codes, there were nights that we were already working it before the resident was fully awake and in the room. I learned quite a bit about knowing to trust my instincts, and would have loved to keep it up, but I could only manage to be awake during my shift - days off and my inbetween shifts, all I could do was sleep.

So I really didn't get to see my kids - so another myth about night shift: Night shifters get tons of extra time with their families and can stay up to celebrate holidays, even when they have to work that night!

Blee

[Dolce, RN]

Working days is HARD. Working nights is HARD. Its too bad nurses can't just have respect for one another and realize that both shifts have negatives and positives. There are so many open night-shift nursing positions out there--if its so easy why don't more nurses work nights?

[nyapa, RN]

I work nights as an aide in the hospital, and I feel incredibly bad for our nurses.

Don't sell yourself short. You work very hard as well

I worked permanent nights for years, and in our hospital it is mandatory to work 4 night shifts out of a 4 week roster.

I love nights, the independence is great. But as everyone else here says, nights is no less busy. If you have a suddenly acute patient with only 3 nurses on the floor with 8 to 9 patients each, then your resources are stretched to the limit (we don't have aides - oh how I wish we did!). And doctors resources are also stretched. You may find that the doctor may be dealing with a similarly acute patient on another ward...

Days can also be frantic. A different sort of frantic. It may be much better staffed, with access to allied health as well as the medicos, but there are so many different things done during the day that don't happen at night. That is why it is better staffed.

So really, nights and days can be equally as busy or quiet. Just different roles...

Jay

[mamason]

I must admit, I used to think the night shift had all this extra time on their hands. Ha! That was until I stayed over to help out when they were short. Lord Have Mercy on those nurses souls. I've never seen people get dumped on so much by admits, disorientated pts, codes, etc. It was crazy. I have since learned to have a new respect for what they do. I couldn't do my dayshift without everything they do during the night shift.

[RNperdiem, RN]

All too often I pick up patients that were agitated and wild all night. They sleep all day for me. Towards the end of the shift they start to get active again.