im curious-graveshifts for CNA's

yousoldtheworld · Sep 19, 2010

Yes. I worked 3rds for about 3 years and loved it. Most nursing homes have 8 hour shifts, so they have to have a 10-6 or 11-7 shift. Some places have 12 hour shifts, which I dislike. Nursing facilities have to have CNAs 24 hours a day.

On 3rd shift, your tasks are usually:

Checking, changing and/or toileting, and turning your residents every 2 hours.

Cleaning wheelchairs or other "housekeeping" type tasks. For example, in one dementia unit I worked on, I did the pm snack dishes, fed the fish, cleaned the litter box, and one other chore that rotated - either cleaning out the refrigerator or disinfecting the recliners, for example. Sometimes you might just clean the shower rooms and utility rooms. Generally, you make sure everything is nice and neat for the next day.

Passing out linens - towels, washcloths, etc. for the morning getup. (This isn't in every facility, but many). Some places will have you set out clothes.

Take out the trash, take laundry carts to the laundry, etc.

Usually, you will have some residents to get up before you leave in the morning. I've had to get up anywhere from 2 - 8 depending on the facility.

And no matter what you think - residents do NOT sleep all night. You'll have plenty of call lights to answer.

It's a much more laid back shift than the others. Some people find it really boring. I always spread out my chores throughout the night, and always had plenty of call lights and rounds to do to keep me busy. It's not for everyone, but if you're a night owl or have things during the day, I recommend it.

caliotter3 · Sep 19, 2010

I worked night shift as a CNA while in nursing school. We checked our residents on a walk through at the beginning of the shift. We checked the sliding glass doors that opened to the outside to insure they were closed and locked due to a resident being raped by an intruder in the past. By the time we finished checking in each room the nurses had received report and were ready to give us our assignments. We worked in pairs and did first rounds. One CNA did the vital signs for those on alert charting. The rest of the night was spent answering individual call lights and doing rounds every two hours otherwise. When we did rounds we checked for incontinence, and cleaned and changed anyone who needed it. On our final rounds we handed out warm washcloths for residents to wash their faces with. Any time anything was out of the ordinary we were responsible for notifying the nurses. Sometimes there were special projects like cleaning wheelchairs. Definitely more laid back than the other two shifts.

DarkBluePhoenix · Sep 19, 2010

Thank you for your explanations guys!

I hope I can get a "3rd shift" (sorry, i am use to working "grave shifts" its kinda funny calling it 3rd shift lol) CNA job. I just think working overnight is easier than morning and afternoons, especially in school.

Again thanks!

sonomala · Sep 26, 2010

I did graveyard. I knew a few nursing students who did it. Some nights they had lots of time for homework. Others they were scrambling for five minutes. Generally it is more chilled out but on any given night you can have residents who don't want to sleep, who are sick ect. Additionally, how chilled out it is can depend on which nurse is working that night. Some are easy but some think you should be on the go all night long. And my exp, watching people sleep for hours does nothing to help one stay awake. It is easier to pull an all nighter studying at home than in a nursing home where the lights are dimmed and everyone is trying to keep their voices down.

KB24 · Sep 27, 2010

The night shift is the easiest shift and the most boring shift. You usually only have a couple other CNA's with you on the floor and you have more residents than 1st and 2nd shift.

We have to get up 5 residents before the first shift CNA's arrive.

NiquiCNA · Sep 27, 2010

Its not necessarily the easiest.. mainly because you have more residents than any other shift.. and if you get demented or confused patients.. it can be impossible. In the hospital.. its the same thing as days, with less staff.. I do 12 hour nights and have had as many as 21 patients to myself.

DreamyEyes · Sep 27, 2010

At the facility I work at, nights is either extremely slow with a LOT of downtime (other than doing your rounds every 2 hours) or it's crazy busy. Depends on the night.