Need help from night shift nurses

mstigerlily · Feb 7, 2006

Last night I worked 7pm-7:30am (had a bear of a night too), then got home, took a shower, sat around, went to a dentist appt at 10:30am, didn't get to sleep till around 12:30pm. That was the first time I've gone to bed so late and I have to say once I passed the initial 3am-5am sleepiness and the 9am-10am sleepiness (body saying why aren't I in bed now?) I felt perfectly normal. But I am used to working 12 hr nights and you are not.

I would try very hard to get someone else to work it for you, it's too much pressure to have to work your very first night shift the day after working a pm shift and then attend a class afterwards. You can try to sleep all day Sunday but it will probably be hard for you if you're not used to it.

Hi I've been an RN for 6 months now & have only worked either 7-3 (on orientation) and now I've been working 3-11 PM. My manager put me on 11-7 this coming Sunday night and I've been really nervous about it for two reasons: #1 I've never, ever worked the night shift and am worried my body will feel weird and that I'll feel drowsy, cuz i'm usually asleep by 1:30 AM. #2 after I get off of work at like 7:15 AM or so, I have to go RIGHT to the second part of my telemetry class from 8 AM-12 noon or so...my manager knew about this at least 6 weeks ago but she scheduled me anyways, and I asked EVERY OTHER nurse to switch with me so I won't be a zombie to class and I even got one nurse to switch with me, but my manager said we couldn't switch cuz of overtime for that nurse! augh!!!! I did everything I possibly could but it looks like I am stuck working 11-7 and going straight to my tele class. Yeah, I'm bitter about this cuz I've been working on my tele unit for 6 months now and she never let me or the other new grads take the class yet and when we take it upon ourselves to sign up for the next available class and I told her about it 6 weeks ago so she wouldn't sign me up to work then, she goes and does it anyhow! The only time I've ever been assigned to work 11-7 is the night before the 8 AM class she KNOWS I have to take for work! How outrageous and other words I cannot say here. :angryfire So if I have to do it, what time do you think I should go to bed on Sunday during the day so I can be awake all night long on Sunday/Monday AM until noon? Thanks.
-Christine