Do Day Nurses Really Feel that Night Nurses Do Nothing All Night?

[Brita01]

Having worked the 12 hour night shift in many hospitals I find the same things. Day shift nurses leave us so much work to do that we're playing catch up all night. We start off 2 hours behind because we're finishing things left over from the day shift. I've had times when I'm still giving 9pm meds at almost midnite because things were so screwed up starting out. Then we have to do our night shift paperwork and deal with the patients who do NOT "sleep all night". Part of the night shift paperwork involves getting things proper and ready for the day shift to use. And I swear if something gets missed by us we WILL hear about it. It really burns my butt when they come in in the morning complaining about what the night shift didn't do because we ask their secretary to make a call or two for a consult. BUT it's ok for the day shift to pass things to us because it's a "24 hour care hospital". I'm just curious. How many day nurses out there believe that the night nurses should be able to do it all because we have nothing to do anyway?

[aloevera]

I have always worked 7A-3P but recently changed to 3-11....let me tell you, I work my butt off on this shift....it is different, I will agree...you are dealing with visitors, and more admissions, etc....granted days kept me hopping, too ....I cannot say that one shift is any more difficult or stressful than the other...

now if you are only speaking of cateye...11P-7A, I know they have a lot more paperwork to take care of...chart checking, etc...but I really haven't worked that shift so cannot say...

[melz34]

hey I don't think it's fair that people on each shift be nasty and slag of people on both shifts it's not very nice both shifts work hard and both shifts have lazy slackers who can't be botherd to do a single thing and then you get hard working people who never let a single patient or their family be dissapointed with them:angryfire

[Almeida09]

I think that night nurses work very hard. It also depends on which area you work.

[melz34]

all I know is this ongoing fued and argument about night shift and day shift nurses is stupid the bottom line is both shifts work extremeley hard and well to keep and maintain a happy and clean ward there are always lazy slackers who can't be bothered to do anything and there always will be but it's not fair to rip on the other shift because they work equally as hard as everyone else apart from the lazy ones. were not here to argue were here to take care of pts and get them on the road to recovery so I think all this fueding should stop and lets all be at peace and be all friendly with eachother on both shifts.

[pageygirl]

I have only worked on days and I know that the night nurses have alot of rough nites they get less techs than we do on days and pms and they dont have a unit clerk after 11pm. I know that the nurses do work hard and do all the chart checks which I am sure take up a lot of time.. One benefit they dont have to deal with visitors as much as days do... those dreaded family members :)

[melz34]

all I know is this ongoing fued and argument about night shift and day shift nurses is stupid the bottom line is both shifts work extremeley hard and well to keep and maintain a happy and clean ward there are always lazy slackers who can't be bothered to do anything and there always will be but it's not fair to rip on the other shift because they work equally as hard as everyone else apart from the lazy ones. were not here to argue were here to take care of pts and get them on the road to recovery so I think all this fueding should stop and lets all be at peace and be all friendly with eachother on both shifts.

Does anyone agree with this

[sofaraway04]

I work both shifts, occasionally we get a quiet night and I get to sit down and look at the paper and have a drink. That never happens on day shifts. But generally we are steadily busy through the night. We are very busy at the start, getting observations on all patients, IV's, BM, night meds and then same again at the end of the shift in the morning. Usually midnight until 5am is a slower pace and generally just the monitoring that we need to do and answering bells.

I prefer the work of night, it is less stressfull in general but messes up my body clock and sleep so wouldn't be able to do it full time.

[RN4911]

I work 12 hr night shifts in the ED! This feeling is definitely true in my facility with most of my co-workers!! Days has 4 medics, 4-5 nurses, 1-2 techs, 2 secretaries, and a greeter. Not to mention all of the anicillary staff. On nights, we have 2 medics, 2 nurses, 1 secretary, and 2 medics on call for runs. There are MANY nights when my ED is chuck full, bursting at the seams with critical patients----we run our butts off!!!! When you think of the night shift, you think of cardiacs(awoke from sleep), you think of your traumas(alcohol definitely plays a factor), you think of your overdoses, etc, etc, etc!! Our facility keeps taking away things that the medics can do, making for more responsibilities on the 2 nurses, but not giving us any more nursing staff. I will say that there are nights when we may see only a handful of patients, but that is rare. It's usually the opposite end of the spectrum! And on the other hand, there are days where they have a handful of patients. It goes both ways. Does anyone else see this?

[med/oncRN]

I have worked both days and nights. I am always the 1st to defend the noc shift when people say they do nothing. Nights are busy in a different way, and I agree--a large percentage of patients don't sleep at night. In fact, that is when they get crazy from sundowning and the effects of sleeping pills. Both shifts are busy. Both shifts have the same sort of nurse's . Some are lazy and give ****** care and do as little as possible. I have seen nurse's sleeping at night and I have seen day nurses who sit on the internet all day or sit around talking not attending to the needs of their patients. It has nothing to do with what shift you work, it has everything to do with your work ethic.

[Iam46yearsold]

Peace Love Out

[yfloridanurse]

I agree with some of the post, I always worked day shift, 12 and 8hours and just recently started as ANM in night shift. I can say there both busy its just a different kind of busy and the support is much more less in the night as well as the telephone are not great time to make those nightcalls to ask for help unless is a dire emergency. In day shift there are a lot more support but is a zoo, every single person is in the floor, MD's, PT, OT, MSW, CM, everybody, meetings, versus night where you have a higher load, but you get new admission, but very infrequent MD or other specialty visits, but nonetheless busy. But the same is true about the floor and the ER, they think the people in the ER are so sloppy, they did not do tjhis or that, but they do not sit to ask what happened. I worked the ER for 3 years, and if med surg and ICU is busy, ER is three times that, because your dealing with admiited patients, with orders, rescue calls, walking emergency, codes, stroke protocol, chest pian, MI, you name it, but still in every single hospital the day shift complains about the night shift and the floors complaint about ER its a never ending story. Until we all as professional and caring nurses understand that we are working together not against each other to get the other we are in trouble, like one of you said, pitch in and help and get the patient better and out the doo, it will help everybody. And yes night shift nurses work all night and have to fight their body to stay awake.

[Sydangle2]

That just seems to the standard saying ... 'night nurses do nothing.'

But it can be tranferred to what the 'other' shifts say about their counterparts trailing behind one shift.