New job, need advice

nichola · Jul 26, 2003

Worked night duty for several years if you have kids would advise the 11-7 shift. night duty is often seen as an easy option but the reality is quite different i would encourage you to spend limited periods only on nights as they can be emotionally and physically draining

goodluck with the new job

Milehighnurse · Jul 27, 2003

Originally posted by solagratia
Hi All! New to this forum, here's my story:

Graduated from nursing school a little over a year ago, have been working for the past year on a step-down unit, have not enjoyed that at all due to staffing/type of pts. My favorite clinical rotation was psych, so I applied for and got a new job at the local in-patient facility. I'll be working mainly with adults.

My preference is to work nights, but they have 8 and 12 hour shifts. Any opinions on which is better (would be 7P-7A, or 11-7)?

Also, any general advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
solagratia

For what it's worth, here's my opinion. I've been doing psych for about 10 years, all 3 shifts, 3 y/o's all the way up to Gero's. If you've never done psych, consider the 11p-7a for awhile (at least 6 months- 1 year). My rationale for this is this is the best way to learn about the various diagnosis, meds, labs,...etc. Once you feel more comfortable in your knowledge base, then consider either extending into the 3-11 shift or trying days. 3-11's do most of the admissions and interact with family members who expect you to be able to answer all of their questions; days is really fast paced where you primarily are doing meds, pulling orders, getting a pt scheduled for an appt or getting them there and interacting with the treatment team. This can be a intimidating if you don't feel that you have a good understanding of psych stuff. Hope this helps.

Milehighnurse · Jul 27, 2003

Originally posted by solagratia
Hi All! New to this forum, here's my story:

Graduated from nursing school a little over a year ago, have been working for the past year on a step-down unit, have not enjoyed that at all due to staffing/type of pts. My favorite clinical rotation was psych, so I applied for and got a new job at the local in-patient facility. I'll be working mainly with adults.

My preference is to work nights, but they have 8 and 12 hour shifts. Any opinions on which is better (would be 7P-7A, or 11-7)?

Also, any general advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
solagratia

For what it's worth, here's my opinion. I've been doing psych for about 10 years, all 3 shifts, 3 y/o's all the way up to Gero's. If you've never done psych, consider the 11p-7a for awhile (at least 6 months- 1 year). My rationale for this is this is the best way to learn about the various diagnosis, meds, labs,...etc. Once you feel more comfortable in your knowledge base, then consider either extending into the 3-11 shift or trying days. 3-11's do most of the admissions and interact with family members who expect you to be able to answer all of their questions; days is really fast paced where you primarily are doing meds, pulling orders, getting a pt scheduled for an appt or getting them there and interacting with the treatment team. This can be a intimidating if you don't feel that you have a good understanding of psych stuff. Hope this helps.

solagratia · Jul 27, 2003

Thanks for the info! I'll be working 11-7, primarily on an adult unit.