Getting Through Loooooooong Shifts

[peds_cna]

Don't get my wrong, I LOVE my job. Love love love. I adore coming to work but we have all had those days where it's your 3rd or 4th 12 in a row (sometimes 5th or 6th! Ha!) and the minutes are just dragging. You can't help but look at the clock every two minutes and even though you love your job you just want to go home and relax. How do you guys get through those shifts when there are a few hours left and you're already ready to go home?

[Tait, MSN, RN]

I cruise allnurses.com and tell them I am doing research!

:)

[ohmeowzer RN, RN]

those last few hours are the worst sometimes, your tired and just had enough of running your legs off.. i just try to keep busy and not look at the clock...

[sasha1224]

i make lists... in my head!! i cannot cruise the internet at work and reading makes me tired. so i will create list of everything i can think of. next grocery run, a new author i want to read all of their books, a different recipe i saw on tv, i will run it through my brain constantly to come up with the ingredients. run thru things that interest me and come up with more lists to go over. like new words, languages or terms. try to figure out how things are done, such as changing a tire or replacing a garbage disposal. sometimes SUDOKU fills in here. a portable can be quick easy to pocket and fun. while most of our shift time should be productive(patient care and what ever else the PTB tell us) i think sometimes the "off" stuff can be as helpful as well. and who knows, maybe that painfully, PITA pt is a paula dean fan? maybe "other" interests can actually help!

[bethin]

I usually go to a pt's room who I know is lonely and I've developed a good relationship with. I'll tell my coworkers where I'm at, sit in his/her room and chat. Sometimes I go to rooms and sit with non-verbal pt's. We all know those stroke pt's who have lost their speech but are still sharp as a tack.

One time I spent an hour in a room and didn't know it! My coworkers knew where I was at and they're ok with it. They know to come get me if it gets busy or I'll get up if I hear a light.