Leaving Work / Nurse Duties Incomplete Passing To Night Shift

[coffeeandvendingmachines, BSN]

Do you day shift nurses ever feel an exasperated yet defensive/angry response to the next shift when you failed to do something you should have done during your shift and it is passed on to them?

I feel a mix of exasperation, apology, and defensive anger. Yes I failed as a nurse because I did not cover this thing during my shift. I covered 5 other things instead and so maybe I was prioritizing wrong.

It creates a general passive aggressive vibe between day shift and night shift where I feel I'm walking on eggshells and can't ever get anything right for them. Yes night shift sucks. I'm not in their shoes. But do they realize all the things we balance during the day?

In the end it makes me look like I missed this major thing during my shift and am a bad nurse, when, well I was balancing 5 other things and discharges (night shift does not do discharges) and 100 things going crazy between 5 pm and 7 pm.

How do you dayshift nurses improve in this area?

I feel exasperated because something had to give, yet I am a repeat offender in this area. Advice please. I know I could use some humility. But I'm mainly just angry and exhausted and struggle to face the night shift nurses the next day/shift. 

[Sour Lemon]

9 minutes ago, coffeeandvendingmachines said:

Do you day shift nurses ever feel an exasperated yet defensive/angry response to the next shift when, you failed to do something you should have done during your shift and it is passed on to them? I feel a mix of exasperation, apology, and defensive anger. Yes I failed as a nurse because I did not cover this thing during my shift. I covered 5 other things instead and so maybe I was prioritizing wrong. It creates a general passive aggressive vibe between day shift and night shift where I feel I'm walking on eggshells and can't ever get anything right for them. Yes night shift sucks. I'm not in their shoes. But do they realize all the things we balance during the day? So in the end it makes me look like I missed this major thing during my shift and am a bad nurse, when, well I was balancing 5 other things and discharges (night shift does not do discharges) and 100 things going crazy between 5 pm and 7 pm. How do you dayshift nurses improve in this area? I feel exasperated because something had to give, yet I am a repeat offender in this area. Advice please. I know I could use some humility. But I'm mainly just angry and exhausted and struggle to face the night shift nurses the next day/shift. 

In most cases, shift wars are the result of poor staffing. When you're not already stretched to the limit, an unexpected task doesn't feel like the sky falling.

Assuming this is a unit-wide problem (as opposed to a personal one), I think confidence helps. It's okay to apologize, but don't over apologize. It also helps to create goodwill when you're gracious coming on shift.

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

Facility nursing is a 24hr/365 days.  Whats not done on 1 shift due to prioritization/issues (codes, patient off floor for  testing, missing supplies, awaiting equipment, etc) gets passed to the next for follow-up.  Fact of life in this setting.  Having worked nights x 10 yrs, often batted cleanup outstanding care needs --passed a few to day shift too. I'm repeat offender too--especially night I had 3 codes.  

Time will help you in improving in prioritization to some degree.  Refrain how you think + pass over info in report "These tasks need completion" without apology will go long way in lessening pressure on yourself.

(((HUG)))

[SmilingBluEyes]

There are only so many hours in a shift. If you find the same people are leaving the same tasks over and over and can tell their shift was not a s--- show, you can assume there was maybe time to get it done and maybe they are lazy.  This is not necessarily the case.

I spent many years on nights and cleaned up many a mess. But Ieft a few myself when my night was hell.  It evens out I found, when I went to days.

[speedynurse, ADN, BSN, RN, EMT-P]

Nursing is a 24/7 job. You can only do what you can do. As a new grad, I remember being so frustrated when I couldn’t get everything done and sometimes I still get very frustrated. You have to draw boundaries and accept that you can’t get everything done some days.....be clear in your report and pass it on. The best advice I can give you as someone else mentioned is when a nurse has to do the same to you then accept it kindly and move on about your day. That’s just nursing and the job will never be done.

[caliotter3]

When it seemed to me that leaving work for my shift was a result of laziness or spite, rather than being overwhelmed, I adopted the view that tasks to be done were only tasks to be done. I did not associate those tasks with a shift nor keep tab. I just did what I could do in eight hours and left satisfied that I had done what I could.

[CalicoKitty, BSN, MSN, RN]

After working nights for many years, the only things that I hate day shift missing is stuff that could not be done during night shift. Like if I gave report and said "please communicate this with the team", I really expect that to get done. Ordering dinner (no food trays during night shift and the 3 turkey sandwich lunch boxes will hardly be enough for the unit admissions). I got annoyed with fellow nightshifters when they would complain about admissions (it is what we do!) I could do an admission pretty quick and rarely even left the 'after 6am" ones for day shift.  Lots can get done during nights. Just not the stuff that gets reported to the primary (day shift) teams. Also,  annoyed when I realized so late (9/10) that there were missing 6pm meds (my fault for not double checking, but I really get annoyed when I have deal with it)....

[TheMoonisMyLantern, ADN, LPN, RN]

I've always worked nights, we are the clean up crew at most facilities, and most of the time that's okay. I echo the previous poster that said it's really only annoying when it's tasks that are much more difficult to do on nights. Very few things actually bother me when passed along because we can only do but so much and nursing is 24/7. God knows I've had to leave stuff before, we all have to.

I feel so much gratitude to the days shifters that make sure certain things get done before nights. Like completing a late discharge for someone waiting for a ride, or medicating people for pain prior to shift change, getting that last unit of blood started. So many nurses over the years have been very courteous in helping my shift start out smooth, I try to return that favor and pass it on.

[JadedCPN, BSN, RN]

I've worked days and nights. There is a difference between being so busy you can't complete everything, and truly leaving things that could have been done - it is rare to find nurses that are genuinely lazy and leave things that could have been done, but you can guarantee they are repeat offenders and you'll quickly pick up on their pattern.

For everyone else most people understand that nursing care is 24 hours. Do your best to set up the next shift for success, apologize if you feel the need to, but keep it moving. 

[mmc51264, BSN, MSN, RN]

where I work, we are pretty good at telling the next shift about why something didn't get done (code, RRT, etc). My biggest pet peeve is PRN medications not given. Like a pt hasn't had a BM in 3 days and no one ever gave PRN Miralax/Senna. Or someone complains of pain and no one has given PRN Tylenol. It's like, unless it's scheduled, they don't give it. 

[JBMmom, MSN, NP]

Every shift has advantages and drawbacks. Every nurse has a finite amount of time to complete many tasks and I think that things get passed along in both directions all the time. I've been on night shift about three and a half years and in my unit there's rarely been any shift related animosity related to tasks not getting done. There are lazy nurses on first, second and third shift. There are awesome nurses on first, second and third shift. There are also things far beyond the nurse's control. When a hospitalist chooses to enter or change orders is beyond our control. Patient arrive, leave and die all the time. Codes and rapid responses happen all the time. Hopefully people in this field understand that work goes on 24/7 and we're all doing our share. 

[Been there,done that, ASN, RN]

Every nurse on every shift .. leaves on going issues/ tasks to the oncoming shift. 

"It creates a general passive aggressive vibe between day shift and night shift where I feel I'm walking on eggshells".  It is your demeanor and tone during report, that can prevent the negative vibes.

" Hey, sorry I could not get to that bladder scan.. patient did not urinate since the order. Hey, sorry I could not review that EKG.. tech did not do it yet."

Look them straight in the eye.. let them know the ball is now in their court.