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Discussion

I'm a Monkey...

new-nurse-not-ready-for-nights-needs-organization-tips.jpg.528353ecdb14576a08ede883b373dce6.jpg

So, I had a meeting with my Unit Based Educator and Manager as a follow up to my meeting the other day with the UBE/it was supposed to be my last mtg bf end of orientation. 

I told them that while I felt ready on days, I did not on nights. That I am disorganized, and have no routine, and haven't been assigned 5 pts yet on nights. That was definitely, clearly, Absolutely ? % NOT what they wanted me to say, and I had a very hard time saying it as such. I was rebuffed. Basically told that since I am doing so well on days, nights should be just the same... and why isn't it?? I told them I wished I knew, but I suspected rotating shifts and only having worked 2 weeks of nights, intermittently, was likely at least partly the issue.

Their solution is to put me on 1 extra orientation night shift with a different preceptor (for a total of 3 shifts next week) and reevaluate after this. But they clearly intend to put me out on my own following next week regardlessof what I say. 

I feel...disgruntled, and stupid for feeling disgruntled and somewhat surprised by their reaction. Obviously I am putting a monkey in the scheduling wrench. But saying I feel ready when I don't think I am would be wrong, so there's that. Not sure how I'm feeling about my floor after all this drama and discombobulation. Maybe a bit sad that I picked the wrong floor. 

If anyone has any organization tips, or even feels like giving me a snapshot of what your routine is on nights, I would really appreciate it.

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    • Author
    19 hours ago, Curious1997 said:

     You should apply the recipe for your migraines as well. I know a few people who have charted catalysts or situations that have repeatedly led to their migraines and avoided them when possible also identified certain factors that relieved their migraine progression and incorporated it into their routine. Don't know if that could work for you. 

    Good luck! 

    Thank you! I actually had a much better week last week on nights. I think a lot comes down to, "I stink at rotating, especially if its in the same week." My brain is very sensitive to changes in sleep schedule, and does not appreciate me throwing it out of wack, ?. Last week I worked 3 overnights in a row for the first time, and no day shifts thrown in there, and it was a lot less difficult to adjust mentally. 

    As far as my migraines go, I have done the whole migraine diary (for over a year), along with elimination diets to figure out food triggers etc. My triggers include bright lights, extreme overstimulation, changes in sleep pattern or eating routine, illness, stress, barometric pressure changing rapidly, and certain foods. Absent those triggers, I have about 2 migraine days a week on my current preventative, which is much better than the daily chronic intractable migraines I had for 8 years. ❤❤ obviously the rotating schedule is less than ideal for migraines because my sleep has no schedule that is consistent. Hopefully once I am on straight nights this will improve ??.

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    • Experts
    On 3/20/2021 at 3:44 PM, Merrie82 said:

    Thank you for the kind words and encouragement. I will unfortunately be rotating until mid June, then I will be straight nights, which is what I was hired for. I do think rotating is some of the issue, and look forward to when I can stop doing this.

    I can't even explain how different I feel working at night vs. during the day. It's  like my brain isn't functioning properly.  I am...confused? Foggy?

    I get migraines, and afterwards I usually have what I call a migraine hangover day, where I'm just not quite right cognitively. For example, on one such migraine hangover day, I was playing scrabble with my family. I was having difficulty figuring out what to do with my blank squares (I had 2!) to make a whole word. I was getting really frustrated,  bc I just couldn't think. My husband and mother helped, and I got a great word. Once the game was over, we were looking at the board and realized no one ever got the q, or z? Can't remember now. Either way, turns out I had the z, and I put it and another letter on the board upside down, thinking it was a blank. Like that. That is the level of fogginess I am experiencing at night. I am assessing patients for neurological deficits and changes, while experiencing neurological deficits and changes. I feel like a different person, a different nurse, at night. I really, really, hope that it's from rotating, and will get better once I am straight nights.

    As for a new preceptor,  I hope that it helps! I am open to any and all feedback from them, and hopefully they will have some good ideas to help me be more organized. 

    One of the most evil things ever invented is sleep deprivation.  Rotating shifts from Days to Nights and Nights to Days is pure insanity.  I was hired to do D/N rotating.  I was scared and asked if they had a straight shift.  That's how I became an Evening nurse.  I loved it except for all the visitors.  But it was better than Days for me and way better than Nights and immeasurably better than that blasted rotating D/N.

    I fully understand how working such insane schedules makes you feel foggy.  Can you perhaps get Trazodone or Melatonin to help you get better sleep?  Is your family or whoever you might live with supportive?  Turn off phones, doorbells, etc. to protect your sleep.  It might be most natural to sleep from about 11 or noon til whenever you must arise to get ready for work.  Use room darkening curtains, run a fan or something for soothing white noise.

    I think you will be fine as far as mastering the work on Nights.  And mid-June will be here soon.

    God bless you and keep us posted.  I am rooting for you.

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    • Author
    19 hours ago, Kooky Korky said:

    One of the most evil things ever invented is sleep deprivation.  Rotating shifts from Days to Nights and Nights to Days is pure insanity.  I was hired to do D/N rotating.  I was scared and asked if they had a straight shift.  That's how I became an Evening nurse.  I loved it except for all the visitors.  But it was better than Days for me and way better than Nights and immeasurably better than that blasted rotating D/N.

    I fully understand how working such insane schedules makes you feel foggy.  Can you perhaps get Trazodone or Melatonin to help you get better sleep?  Is your family or whoever you might live with supportive?  Turn off phones, doorbells, etc. to protect your sleep.  It might be most natural to sleep from about 11 or noon til whenever you must arise to get ready for work.  Use room darkening curtains, run a fan or something for soothing white noise.

    I think you will be fine as far as mastering the work on Nights.  And mid-June will be here soon.

    God bless you and keep us posted.  I am rooting for you.

    Thank you! 2nd shift would be a dream, but thats a ways off. I'll settle for straight nights once it comes ?

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