Am I allowed to leave ANYTHING for PM shift to do?

[vashtee]

I work day shift on a busy floor, and of late, we are being pressured to be off the floor by 7:30 pm. Sometimes, despite every effort, I can't get every single thing done before shift change (MDs writing orders at 6:45, or phone calls after 7 pm, stuff like that). There are a couple of night nurses that get so bent out of shape by this.

Are we really expected to NEVER leave anything for night shift to do besides pass 9pm meds?

[Mandylou]

Probably already been said by other night-shifters but I do call doctors. Often doing chart checks I discover meds that have not been given or labs not called and I call in the middle of the night to get chewed out from things missed by dayshift. I am not saying we don't miss things on nights but the majority of the time docs aren't cheery when you wake them. That doesn't mean that I don't have a responsibility to call.

I try not to leave things for dayshift but honestly in the last 15-40 minutes before I leave we are swamped by docs coming in to write orders. We go from 0 to 15 charts with orders in that time. Of course it would help to explain that there are usually 3 rn's that have to give report one at a time and we can't leave until we are all done. Our lpn's usually leave while we are still reporting. So it does get tricky.

Do what you can but don't feel bad if it doesn't all get done. Every nurse has to pass along things once in a while. :)

[Sterren, BSN, RN]

Sterren - it looks like you didn't read anything but the title and first post in this thread, so I am not going to bother responding since your issues with my first post have already been addressed.

I read the whole thread. Again with the assumptions about what other people do or don't do. I still stand by my post. If your attitude in real life comes across as it does online, it's no wonder that night shift nurses respond to you the way they do.

[bluegeegoo2, LPN]

The "shift wars" issue has been around as long as nursing from what I understand. As a night shift nurse, I have but 3 simple requests: Make a honest effort to get your work done. I understand that there are admits, d/c's, deaths, MD orders, and those "from Hell" days. They happen. We know. The 2nd request, please, please at least tell me what is being left over! I can't count how many times I've found labs that have not been addressed, orders that haven't been taken off, etc., "hidden" in a pile under other paperwork. That throws my night off, and you just may well end up getting work dumped right back on you. At least if I'm aware of what I need to get done, I can manage my time differently to accomodate the extra work. I get my work done, I don't leave any over for you. (And vice-versa, yes, I know). The last request, don't make a habit of it. We would all love to leave on time every day, but that usually doesn't happen. If it gets to the point that I see that I'm following you on the schedule, groan, and wonder what spectacular "mess" I'm getting dumped on me today, there's a problem. Each shift has it's good and bad points. No, nights usually doesn't have MD's swarming all over the charts, but we have the distinct pleasure of waking them up at 3AM and getting chewed up one side and down the other. Fun, fun stuff. I know you are tired after a long day, and so are we. We all want to go home. Now, would be great. But, that's not the reality of nursing. And we know your "Timmy" doesn't have a baseball game 3 days a week, just like our "Sally" doesn't have a parent/teacher conference every M-W-F morning. Of course, this all applies to nights leaving a mess for days as well. I've worked days, and have been left with more than one mess from nights. It's an issue that's universal to all shifts. We need to work together to find a better solution to stop the inter-shift spats so we can all focus on pt care. Sorry for the long post, but I see a lot of time and talent wasted on shift issues. To quote an infamous soul, "Can't we all just get along?".