Debunking the night shift myths

mamason · Apr 17, 2008

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.

Oh.....that's so true! I don't have a problem with a pt all day, and boy, come night time they put those night shift nurses through the ringer. SO, needless to say, we all have our issues for each shift. Actually, I'm considering going to nights. :zzzzz

Morettia2, BSN, RN · Apr 18, 2008

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.

thank you thank you thank you

rashan1053 · Apr 18, 2008

Wow!!!! Glad I read this thread. I am a new nurse (graduated in dec), and had 8 pts last night. One patient actively dying, another with new chest pain, uncontrolled pain issues, and three ortho patients that needed assistance everytime to get up!!! Usually I have to tape report to days, but had to give verbal this time. The day nurses were great though and completely understanding. Once in a while I hear some of the day nurses say why can't they do that on nights, but for the most part they realize we have less staff and more patients on nights. I agree that as a whole nurses need to band together and have each others back. Most of us get into this career to help people and the last thing we want to do is slack off.

P.S. Never sat down last night!!!!! Hurt all over!!!! :no:

Okami_CCRN, BSN, RN · Apr 18, 2008

I work all three shifts at my hospital and I have to say even though I know I will be flamed Nights is by far the least stressful.

The night shift RN's bring their food to the nurses station and set up a little buffet type thing with chips and dip and are usually done charting at around 1 AM. Then they'll read their patients history and talk about it and then they will get up of course to answer lights and what not but it is relaxed most of the time.

We do have out crazy nights but I feel that it is less stressful because when you have one patient going bad at night you can work on them and not have to worry so much about the others because the RN's are at the nurses station where on days its completely different where focusing on one or two means neglecting the rest.

And I will stand by reasoning that Nights is by far the most relaxed shift I did it for 5 months but missed the excitement of days.

husker_rn, RN · Apr 18, 2008

You all said it right !! Did have one fellow nurse who asked " What do you do allnight anyway? " Told her to look at the bedspread marks on my face; we sat the alarms to 0530 and slept and " What do you think we do ? " Never heard that remark again form anyone in the place. Guess I made my point.

Diary/Dairy, RN · Apr 18, 2008

Both shifts are hard. Days is so constant..... Nights has its lulls, but can be crazy and you HAVE to work as a team to get everything done. There are merits to both shifts and sometimes I just think we should appreciate each other more....

chenoaspirit, ASN, RN · Apr 18, 2008

At night we have to deal with sun-downers, IVs being pulled out during sleep. Patients can be orient x 3 until the sun goes down, then confusion keeps the night busy. Ive worked nights for 3 years, am going on dayshift in a week.

love_being_an_aide · Apr 21, 2008

I work all three shifts at my hospital and I have to say even though I know I will be flamed Nights is by far the least stressful.
The night shift RN's bring their food to the nurses station and set up a little buffet type thing with chips and dip and are usually done charting at around 1 AM. Then they'll read their patients history and talk about it and then they will get up of course to answer lights and what not but it is relaxed most of the time.
We do have out crazy nights but I feel that it is less stressful because when you have one patient going bad at night you can work on them and not have to worry so much about the others because the RN's are at the nurses station where on days its completely different where focusing on one or two means neglecting the rest.
And I will stand by reasoning that Nights is by far the most relaxed shift I did it for 5 months but missed the excitement of days.

I'd like to know what hospital you work in, because you are one of the few this happens to. On my shift, we never have time to sit and eat "buffet style." I'm running around getting vitals for 30 patients, doing computer assessments and ADL's on each, then begging the lab to give me a few more mintues to enter in the patients diets and labs that are ordered, because I have call-lights going off all over the place. And our nurses are up with me doing the same thing. We work as a team to accomplish anything, and it's not easy. I am in total agreement that each shift has it's own set of issues it deals with, but don't go knocking the night-shift. :nono:

Wendy_RN · Apr 21, 2008

I'd like to know what hospital you work in, because you are one of the few this happens to. On my shift, we never have time to sit and eat "buffet style." I'm running around getting vitals for 30 patients, doing computer assessments and ADL's on each, then begging the lab to give me a few more mintues to enter in the patients diets and labs that are ordered, because I have call-lights going off all over the place. And our nurses are up with me doing the same thing. We work as a team to accomplish anything, and it's not easy. I am in total agreement that each shift has it's own set of issues it deals with, but don't go knocking the night-shift.

I just changed jobs, but at the hospital I just left it was common to see the "buffet" being set up before day shift got out the door. That was a little frustrating when we were 1-2 hours late leaving, and you can bet they were going to be out the door by 7:15 the next morning. Yes, each shift has its own challenges. The staffing ratios on nights were 6-7. On days we had 8-10. Nights also had a secretary and charge nurse, the same as days. I have gone into work and found the computers logged onto different shopping websites, email, games, etc. If I checked my hospital email it was before leaving work. I didn't have time otherwise. Out of my 8-10 assigned rooms I could count on discharging patients from at least 3 and filling the rooms as soon as they were cleaned. Nights may get admissions, but how many discharges do they have? If days left something for nights because they could not get it done for some reason the night nurses were kind enough to write us up. Yes, we all need to get along. I don't mind helping the night nurse as long as she returns the favor, but some of this is just petty. There should not be a division between shifts.

anurseuk · Apr 22, 2008

I'm in critical care now so night shifts are pretty much the same as day shifts, admissions from theatres and other cardiothoracic wards, the unstability of patients in general.

But I used to work on an acute elderly ward and I'm sure the majority of pt's seem to die on nights (pt's not for resus) and they mostly seem to arrest on nights when staffing is lesser. Also, elderly pt's in general just seemed to go 'loopy' (not very pc) at night... on top of all the patients who are very dependant with turns etc when you have lesser staffing levels... definatly not a doss... but what I like about working nights is the unsociable hours bonus's and there seems to be 'less hassle' in terms of work politics etc because there are less managers!!!

or is that just me?

DebRN06 · Apr 22, 2008

I just changed jobs, but at the hospital I just left it was common to see the "buffet" being set up before day shift got out the door.

Seen the night shifts' "buffee" at both places I have worked. My last job was nights. Now am days, but have picked up a few night shifts.

Neither shift is easy. That is for sure. I, for one, could not do nights anymore (in part) because of lack of sleep (For some reason the rest of the world wouldn't revolve around MY schedule). But, I do find nights "easier" (notice the quotes) for a few reasons, such as not being called out of rooms constantly for phone calls, not having to answer questions to all the extra staff (PT,OT, dietary, xray, nuc med, transporters, .....) that we are "lucky" to have there. Barely had to deal with families as visiting hours over at 8 (families are there ALL day). At night there was normally a "lull" starting somewhere around 2am and possibly lasting until 4:30-5am...but then it seemed as if all hell would break loose. Also, at both places I have worked I have seen night Rns and PCTs sleeping at the nurses station or hiding in break room sleepng (not on their break). I have yet to see that on days.

With that said, I don't miss dealing with the docs at night. Literally had one SNORING on the phone when I was trying to get orders. I also think nights has too many pts (as we do on days). The "crazy" pts get much "crazier" at night, too and sometimes I felt more like a babysitter...especially when the drinkers were admitted in the middle of the night.

We just need to admit both shifts stink...for many of the same and some very different reasons. Administation doen't care about RNs, night shift or day shift. What it comes down to is we are all in the same boat.

bagladyrn, RN · Apr 22, 2008

Well, since neither babies nor uteruses (uteri???) have any time sense, L&D is just as busy at night as in the days. Now, we don't have the scheduled c/sections, but we do have that same scheduled woman showing up at 1 a.m., contracting, dilating and then have to admit, prep,call in the doc, call the OR crew, open and possibly set up the OR all while trying to keep her from progressing until they get there.

Exhausted new moms tend to have their meltdowns at night - after the hordes of visitors who kept them from resting all day leave, that's generally when they just can't cope with the crying baby any more (grandma and various relatives were rocking said baby all day), so you take it out to the desk with you (because of course we've eliminated the well baby nursery.

We don't have the scheduled NSTs, instead we get the panicky women who realizes after being busy all day that she doesn't think she's felt the baby move since this morning. And of course we get the other type, whose boyfriend isn't at home with her, so in she comes with whatever complaint she thinks most dramatic accompanied by a posse of girlfriends who then go into the "track down the daddy" routine on their cell phones and running in and out until they guilt him into showing up, drunk and p.o.'d.

The good part of nights, though, is that when I have a labor patient I manage things without an impatient doc checking every hour and wanting interventions to "speed things up". (And you seldom see administrators.)