Before I write this post, I want to say I am not a traditional student. I am 43 years old and switching careers. I just started as a Nurse Student Tech, and I had a rough time at first, but getting into a "smooth groove" (for lack of a better phrase) to organize my time and work.
Forgive me for my ignorance in advance, but I just got news for my placement in precepting. It is at a hospital I really enjoyed being at for 2 of my clinical rotations. The staff is really willing to teach you and allows you to spread your wings to learn.
The problem, however, is they only had night shift open. I saw a post about this on here from 2002, and I was shocked that during a poll 70% of the people believed night nurses work hard.
I understand we take what we can get when precepting. But here is my view - and please, remember I am just starting a new career and am not familiar with night shift nursing. However, I do not have a good perception of night nursing, and vowed that I would do something like work at a doctor's office before working night shift, and it is because I see night nurses never do assessments, never pass medications, never do discharges and never are involved in patient education. I had a patient complain to me once how rude night shift nurses were on my floor.
When I heard I am precepting on night shift this semester, I got frustrated, because the only experience I have with night nursing is what I mention above. My perception is they really do not do much. I am not disrespecting night nurses, I just don't know what it is they do because of this limited exposure I have with night shift. There have been several times I come on shift and people that I have gotten squeaky clean, at 7 am in the morning, smell so bad that the devil himself would run away.
The only positive experience I have had with night shift nurses was when I was pulled to Emergency. I usually show up 30 minutes before work, and when I went to Emergency, they were on top of everything.
Again, I don't mean to disrespect night shift nurses. I know that there are thousands more out there than my little corner of the world. My frustration, however, is twofold: I don't want to be labeled as a nurse that does not do anything just because I might be on night shift, and I want experience at my precepting site...not just watch or "check in" on sleeping patients once every hour. Precepting is supposed to give us experience as a nurse, and I fear I will not get that - because, as I have observed in my little corner, night nurses do not do assessments or pass medications or even clean up patients. How are we to get experience if we are on a shift where there is really nothing to do?
I know this is a large post and sorry about that. I am someone who tries to be proactive, so...after all that I have said, here is my question: How can I make the most of this placement to do well? I was hoping for day shift because I see how active the nurses are with assessments, passing medications, new admits, discharge and patient education. I really want this to be a positive experience, but how can that be when there is a perception that there is really nothing to do?
You are assuming a ton of stuff dude. You are assuming this and that and have no clue what you are talking about. Also you are in nursing school...No matter WHAT when you graduate you will be a novice at best...no matter how many clinicals at whatever hospital you do. Just DO whatever they tell you to do and learn what you can and move on. You can learn a ton at night and you might not learn a thing during a day shift.
You are assuming a ton of stuff dude. You are assuming this and that and have no clue what you are talking about. Also you are in nursing school...No matter WHAT when you graduate you will be a novice at best...no matter how many clinicals at whatever hospital you do. Just DO whatever they tell you to do and learn what you can and move on. You can learn a ton at night and you might not learn a thing during a day shift.
That is what I am asking. What do you learn on night shift if night shift? How can you learn a ton when most activity happens during the day? I will be sorely disappointed if we are done everything by midnight and sit around for 6 hours twiddling thumbs. Instead of saying I don't have a clue about night shift or assume a lot, tell me what it is you learn on nights. Just flippantly saying I don't know anything about nights is not answering the question. Thanks, Captain obvious, that is my question in the first place.
Working days I've learned so much not only as a tech but also watching and interacting with other nurses, like organizing time and becoming more efficient and communicating with family and physicians.
That is what I am asking. What do you learn on night shift if night shift? How can you learn a ton when most activity happens during the day? I will be sorely disappointed if we are done everything by midnight and sit around for 6 hours twiddling thumbs. Instead of saying I don't have a clue about night shift or assume a lot, tell me what it is you learn on nights. Just flippantly saying I don't know anything about nights is not answering the question. Thanks, Captain obvious, that is my question in the first place.
Working days I've learned so much not only as a tech but also watching and interacting with other nurses, like organizing time and becoming more efficient and communicating with family and physicians.
That's all for now.
Perhaps you should go back and reread our responses and try to comprehend what we are saying.
Night nurses assess patients, come up with appropriate nursing diagnoses, carry out nursing interventions. They administer medications as prescribed, if appropriate. They confer and collaborate with other nurses, RTs, and providers. They change wound dressings, ostomy appliances, and suction trachs.
All this while educating patient and family (yes, loved ones are often at bedside at all hours), assisting patients to and from bathroom and ADLs.
If you don't see how much can be learned from all that, I don't think your understanding of nursing is very evolved.
I had a few NOC clinicals and both (peds, ICU) were a snooze with a long stretch in the middle where the staff simply sat and chatted. I used that time to let all the nurses know I was available for anything that came up: procedures, starting IVs, dressing changes, anything. They were happy to teach me in this slower than expected environment.
In my actual NOC job, however, I am crazy busy from 1900 to around 0200 doing assessments, dressing changes that have soaked through, hanging IVs, PO and tube meds, plus a ton of problem-solving. Literally everything except discharges. Plus I still have to call doctors for change of condition events, clarification on contradictory orders, etc. Plus, quite a few doctors round after midnight and they want to talk, and write new orders. I am in a fast trot until around 0200, then I can catch up on my charting and return to non-urgent projects I postponed, like a scheduled dressing change or some new bureaucratic paperwork. (One of my goals is to not be dehydrated by this stopping point.) By 0430 everything ramps up again as another med pass looms, radiology shows up, critical labs are detected and need to be addressed, plus the early morning doctors round and THEY want to talk and write orders. Also, I have some patients whose family members know that if they wake up at 4am and are worried, they can call us and get an update from the assigned nurse.
Also, labs are drawn from midnight to 0300. They are often short-staffed so you need to do it. If there is a central line, it is always your responsibility.
So...you ask a reasonable question despite the rancor you have stirred up. I think my snooze-worthy clinicals took students because they could. I could not imagine having a student on MY shift. I have never seen a student here, actually, on any shift.
Good luck with your clinical and congratulations on getting a site you wanted. Whatever your experience, I am sure you make it a good one and it will look great on your resume. Make sure you make the acquantance of the nurse recruiter for the site!
Here I am on night shift, stressing over my patient with a 3rd degree AVB in bigeminy that day shift called afib with PVCs. Got my charge to look at it, two RRT RNs to look at it, the CVCU resource to look at it, and finally persuaded the intensivist to consult with cardiology in the morning.
But I guess all we do is tasky nursing things and chill.
I think you should stop worrying about how you won't learn anything on night shift (you will). Just wait until you start, then come back and update us. Night shift does all the same things that day shift does, except less or non discharges, and less pts. Wing taken off floor for testing. Otherwise it's all the same nursing. You will be surprised by how many pts do not sleep at night, I would say more pts are awake than asleep. They don't just stop being sick for the night!
As far as assessments and meds, yep all done on nocs too. Who told you nights doesn't have to do this work??
That is what I am asking. What do you learn on night shift if night shift? How can you learn a ton when most activity happens during the day? I will be sorely disappointed if we are done everything by midnight and sit around for 6 hours twiddling thumbs. Instead of saying I don't have a clue about night shift or assume a lot, tell me what it is you learn on nights. Just flippantly saying I don't know anything about nights is not answering the question. Thanks, Captain obvious, that is my question in the first place.
This is absurd. You have gotten MANY posts from night nurses telling you what they do, and for the most part, it's the same thing the day shift nurses do. Assessments, treatments, med passes, teaching, admissions, codes, rapid response situations, etc. You name it, they do it on nights. You are being deliberately obtuse.
I had a few NOC clinicals and both (peds, ICU) were a snooze with a long stretch in the middle where the staff simply sat and chatted. I used that time to let all the nurses know I was available for anything that came up: procedures, starting IVs, dressing changes, anything. They were happy to teach me in this slower than expected environment.
In my actual NOC job, however, I am crazy busy from 1900 to around 0200 doing assessments, dressing changes that have soaked through, hanging IVs, PO and tube meds, plus a ton of problem-solving. Literally everything except discharges. Plus I still have to call doctors for change of condition events, clarification on contradictory orders, etc. Plus, quite a few doctors round after midnight and they want to talk, and write new orders. I am in a fast trot until around 0200, then I can catch up on my charting and return to non-urgent projects I postponed, like a scheduled dressing change or some new bureaucratic paperwork. (One of my goals is to not be dehydrated by this stopping point.) By 0430 everything ramps up again as another med pass looms, radiology shows up, critical labs are detected and need to be addressed, plus the early morning doctors round and THEY want to talk and write orders. Also, I have some patients whose family members know that if they wake up at 4am and are worried, they can call us and get an update from the assigned nurse.
Also, labs are drawn from midnight to 0300. They are often short-staffed so you need to do it. If there is a central line, it is always your responsibility.
So...you ask a reasonable question despite the rancor you have stirred up. I think my snooze-worthy clinicals took students because they could. I could not imagine having a student on MY shift. I have never seen a student here, actually, on any shift.
Good luck with your clinical and congratulations on getting a site you wanted. Whatever your experience, I am sure you make it a good one and it will look great on your resume. Make sure you make the acquantance of the nurse recruiter for the site!
Thanks for your reply. This is a nice, constructive reply I was looking for. I have not had much experience starting IVs. I have started two IVs in 3.5 years of clinicals, one was on an ICU unit, and 15 minutes later the vein blew. I was going to start an IV in the ED, but told the nurse I could not find a vein. He checked as well, and they had to get another nurse that was trained to use ultrasound to find a vein.
I will come back to this thread, if it is still unlocked, and tell people about my experience. I am not precepting, though, until the end of the semester.
I am going to start another thread for advice on another issue about night nursing as a student regarding a different issue. Thanks again.
... I was shocked that during a poll 70% of the people believed night nurses work hard....
...vowed that I would do something like work at a doctor's office before working night shift,...
...I don't want to be labeled as a nurse that does not do anything just because I might be on night shift, ....
...I really want this to be a positive experience, but how can that be when there is a perception that there is really nothing to do?
Not only did you insult night shift nurse, but you compounded it by insulting office nurses as well. Then you tried to back peddle by playing "poor me, I'm just a student. Stop being angry and please give constructive responses."
windsurfer8, BSN, RN
1,389 Posts
You are assuming a ton of stuff dude. You are assuming this and that and have no clue what you are talking about. Also you are in nursing school...No matter WHAT when you graduate you will be a novice at best...no matter how many clinicals at whatever hospital you do. Just DO whatever they tell you to do and learn what you can and move on. You can learn a ton at night and you might not learn a thing during a day shift.