i'm officially on my own. i had my 3 month introductory period evaluation the other day with my manager. she gave me nothing but good feedback. no constructive criticism at all, i was surprised! especially since i found out the other new grads on my unit (dayshift) are really struggling... =( making mistakes, staying way late charting, not being where they should be... i really feel for them and encourage them when i can. it just takes time. my manager told me how proud she is of me and how far i've come. she even gave me a score of 3 (exceeds expectations) on quality of work saying i'm "very thorough with accurate documentation". she said she rarely gives a score of 3 so i felt proud! ( regarding attitude, "very caring and compassionate, displays teamwork on the unit." so that's it, no more orientation, introductory period, preceptorship. i feel even more like a nurse now.
night shift has made all the difference. I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!! the night crew has been so supportive and helpful. night shifters just have a different, calmer vibe. i was nervous because i heard they were 'clique-y' but i haven't seen any of that. i feel i'm one of them. and i am!! i feel i can be a better nurse since on night shift i actually have time to look up my patient's history, check the chart for any missing elements, and give a great report to the dayshift nurse. i gave report the other morning and the nurse said, "great report, by the way. i can't say the same for most other night shifters on this floor...." HAH! on days i used to get so anxious at 7pm knowing i had to give report, i felt like i gave the crapiest one because my notes were such a mess. not anymore. 7pm-11pm are usually busy and we get admissions from the E.D. but after that it usually calms down. USUALLY. i had one crazy night last week where my patient called me into her room @ 1am holding her vascath in her hand saying, 'IT CAME OUT!' i checked her neck and there was no bleeding whatsoever but i said, 'let me go get my charge nurse'... her and another nurse came into the room with me and we checked her out... i put a pressure dressing on her neck and called the MD. everyone told me how lucky i was that i didn't find her in a pool of blood!! that same night, my 60ish y/o patient called me @ 3am saying, "i took my IV out. i was having a dream!" haaaaaaa. only on nights!!
but then there are nights where all my patients sleep and are stable and i catch up on all my charting and have time to relax. IMPOSSIBLE on day shift. i will never ever go back. i love being there for my patients at night... i had a patient the other night who had a bad cough that was preventing her from getting any sleep so i called the doctor at midnight and got a cough suppressant ordered for her. i love how i can do something small like that that makes such a difference. i had another patient on sunday that i had friday as well and when i walked in her room she said, "ooh yay, you were the best nurse i've had since i've been in here" which meant SO much to me!! i admitted this guy from the E.D. on friday night and when i passed by his room sunday he said, "hey stephanie!" I stopped by, (i just looove having the time to do this now!!), got him some ice cream, and just saw how he was doing.
i love my patients, i love my co-workers, and i love my job!! yes, i have some bad nights where i can't wait for the shift to end, but it's always a challenge and i'm always learning and taking care of people. i can't ask for anything more. :heartbeat
I heart night shift. My hubby just doesn't understand why I'm so attached to it.
Of course, part of it is the people I work with. We've got the smartest, most outgoing, fun people in the whole darn hospital working our floor on nights. It's a great feeling to know that, except for rare circumstances, I'll always be working with the people I can most depend on in a crisis.
I'm an extern working at night and I love it a WHOLE lot more than days. People I talk to don't understand the joy of nights either, you're busy...but you're busy without 30 ppl taking your charts and crowding your patient's room. It's just me, 3 nurses, and 2 MA's on the floor with the PCC downstairs. Even if nights aren't healthy according to some(nothing's healthy anymore), the stress of days is probably more unhealthy for me. Who knows, I can't wait til I graduate and get to work nights.
I have had a similar experience. I'm working nights also and couldn't be happier, sure it doesn't really correspond with my boyfriends schedule but overall i wouldn't change it for anything.. i think i actually sleep more now than i ever have.. i have no problem sleeping during the day, at all! :wshgrt: And the staff on the night shift is soooooo much more supportive than i saw on orientation on the day shift.. i think eventually I'll want a "normal schedule" but i am so impressed with how much i love nights!:loveya:
I'm starting to like the night shift; although, it has just about taken me close to a year to adjust. Sounds like a long time, but it really did take my body this long to adapt. I fought a depression like fog for the first 7 months and have slowly been starting to live life again. I use to be so tired to do anything on my days off, but have found that if I will just get up and move around, I start feeling much better. I'm learning to deal with life on the night shift....yay!
This is a big encouragement to me because I start an externship tomorrow in the Cardiothoracic ICU on night shift. I have worked day shift with all my other jobs and I am really a morning person. I don't know how I am going to react to the big change. I graduate from my BSN program in August and will working night shift then too. If anyone else has any pointers for night shift please let me know.
mama_d, BSN, RN
1,187 Posts
I heart night shift. My hubby just doesn't understand why I'm so attached to it.
Of course, part of it is the people I work with. We've got the smartest, most outgoing, fun people in the whole darn hospital working our floor on nights. It's a great feeling to know that, except for rare circumstances, I'll always be working with the people I can most depend on in a crisis.