I started night shift about two months ago. I came from bussy day shift and before that I spent two years on my most favorite shift - swing (Oh how I miss you, my cheerfull, sometimes b****y but allways lively swing shift girlfriends!)
My question is, what the heck am I missing on Night shift???? All my colleagues are extremely quiet, they are keeping to themselves (Geez, there's one or two that I havent hardly heard to speak yet!) and please forgive me for saying this, the only theme that seems to be comming up for casual conversation (if any), is church.
Sofar I wasn't able to establish a comunicative relationship with them at all and it bothers me because that is SO not me... ...And besides, it sure would help if one had someone to talk to at four or five in the am, when the "critical hour of sleepyness" hits.
Is this a common phenomenon, that night shift nurses are much "quieter" (I don't mean volume level) and less communicative?
is there anyone else who switched from days/eves to nights who went through a similar experience?
...But my REAL question is: What the heck are they doing all the time??? I mean, even if I draw it out, the 24 hour chart check and gathering all my info, H&P's, labs, reading the previous nurses' notes, communication sheets and progress notes doesn't take longer than three, maybe four hours tops... And there are nearly no meds to be given,no treatments, no procedures, radiology,CT's, MRI's, the doc's are not around to write orders...Usually most of the patients are sleeping, and those that arent, are at least trying... So what am I missing?? They seem to be able stare into the chart, and into the computer (not browsing, mind you, but actually looking at pt. info) ALL NIGHT!!! I don't mean to be mean at all, but are they memorizing the chart or something??? I just can't figure this out.... I just can't pretend all night, like I'm doing something really important, so I read a magazine or a book or surf the net, in order to not fall asleep... I tried to go around and ask if they need help, but they hardly ever do.
No one seems to mind when I obviously am not doing anything, everybody is very nice to me and I continuously am getting praise on my performance as a nurse, but still, I feel so bad... I feel like I am missing something or doing something wrong by not doing anything when there's nothing to do....
Please help me with any kind of input, or I'll go nuts over this...
The coolest and freakiest people work on nights (and they are one and the same people...)
HA HA!! Amen, sister!!
I think it depends on your unit and the culture. I work ICU and all goes on as it does during the day....just fewer med students and family around. Baths, meds, codes, drips, charting, and a crisis of any variety can usually be had.
As for the people on nights....well, it's amazing the deep conversations you can have at 3 AM. Not too mention how hysterically funny you find something by about 5 AM.
Perhaps you should suggest to your co-workers to do what we do....go for after-work cocktails. Ah, yes...last week, we recently celebrated Cinco de Mayo with Mexican beers at 7:30 AM.
I work a combination of evenings, nights and 12 hour nights. Yes, the night people are quieter and tend to be more religious. One nurse's aides prattles on and on about her church, and I gather from some of her comments that she thinks us Catholics are headed you know where...:angryfire
It took me awhile to get to know them. But, I'm never bored. If it's slow, I can read or go online. I like nights because none of the night people are suck up, brownnosers, and everyone has a certain healthy disdain for management. Also, everyone works well as a team.
I think it must vary from place to place and floor to floor. I'm a new grad but did nights on the oncology floor during my preceptorship and am now working postpartum and most nights I am BUSY. Usually I don't even get to charting until midnight (I work 7pm-7:30am) and sometimes don't even get time to eat lunch (just grab a snack on the go). We get admissions frequently in the middle of the night and I have a c-section, we're doing vitals every 15-30 minutes at first, spinal orders mean hourly sedation checks and often they are nauseous and a bit later, itchy so I am constantly pulling up IV meds to push etc. Then the endless breastfeeding at night! The moms have people over all day visiting and baby is held and passed around and sleeps through the commotion, then at night baby is wide awake, clusterfeeding and moms are exhausted and having teary meltdowns. I never knew a postpartum floor could be so busy, I thought it would be an "easy" floor and in some ways it's easier but I am never bored!!!
Melissa
I started night shift about two months ago. I came from bussy day shift and before that I spent two years on my most favorite shift - swing (Oh how I miss you, my cheerfull, sometimes b****y but allways lively swing shift girlfriends!)
My question is, what the heck am I missing on Night shift???? All my colleagues are extremely quiet, they are keeping to themselves (Geez, there's one or two that I havent hardly heard to speak yet!) and please forgive me for saying this, the only theme that seems to be comming up for casual conversation (if any), is church.
Sofar I wasn't able to establish a comunicative relationship with them at all and it bothers me because that is SO not me... ...And besides, it sure would help if one had someone to talk to at four or five in the am, when the "critical hour of sleepyness" hits.
Is this a common phenomenon, that night shift nurses are much "quieter" (I don't mean volume level) and less communicative?
is there anyone else who switched from days/eves to nights who went through a similar experience?
...But my REAL question is: What the heck are they doing all the time??? I mean, even if I draw it out, the 24 hour chart check and gathering all my info, H&P's, labs, reading the previous nurses' notes, communication sheets and progress notes doesn't take longer than three, maybe four hours tops... And there are nearly no meds to be given,no treatments, no procedures, radiology,CT's, MRI's, the doc's are not around to write orders...Usually most of the patients are sleeping, and those that arent, are at least trying... So what am I missing?? They seem to be able stare into the chart, and into the computer (not browsing, mind you, but actually looking at pt. info) ALL NIGHT!!! I don't mean to be mean at all, but are they memorizing the chart or something??? I just can't figure this out.... I just can't pretend all night, like I'm doing something really important, so I read a magazine or a book or surf the net, in order to not fall asleep... I tried to go around and ask if they need help, but they hardly ever do.
No one seems to mind when I obviously am not doing anything, everybody is very nice to me and I continuously am getting praise on my performance as a nurse, but still, I feel so bad... I feel like I am missing something or doing something wrong by not doing anything when there's nothing to do....
Please help me with any kind of input, or I'll go nuts over this...
I have been on the night shift for about 6 months working on a telemetry floor at the Local County Hospital and I have to tell you we stay pretty darn busy most nights. Though on our s**w nights we all get together and pick on our charge nurse and just generally have a good time.
I think we are a rare kind of shift though, we actually like each other and get in to some pretty interesting conversations most nights. Honestly, I am usually not finished cleaning up for the day shift until around 2 am or so. (they seem to honestly hate each other)
I hear ya... sounds like you work at my hospital on my unit!!! Do I know you??? When I first started here... I left a large subacute unit 3/11 shift and came to a county hospital for 11/7. When I first started no one would talk to each other... I absolutely hated it... we were like individual islands.... with lots of water around us... don't bother me... don't look at me... just leave me alone... I wasn't used to it at all, never could get used to it. I talked with my manager and she let it be known that some of us were not happy and that the team spirit needed to infect everyone. There was a lot of resentment at first but gradually it changed. And now we are tight as thieves!!! We all have each other's back and always willing to jump in and help. If one of us gets pulled we take turns going over to make sure she is ok on that unit. If she is slow, she will come over and check on us. The flip side of all of this is now they are accusing us of being too "clickie". I don't care... we have a good time, we laff, we gripe and bi%#h, but we do it together. And we see each other thru it.
Stick it out, try to drum up conversations like most embarrasing moment, favorite toy as a kid, how did you meet your SO... avoid religion, politics, etc. It will take time for them to get to know you and you to get to know them... it will fall into place and it will get more comfortable.
Now... as far as getting it all done early... same thing here.. I have a system and I am finished with everything usually by 2 am at the latest. The others wonder how I do it and complain sometimes... but I tried out different methods, different ways and found one that just clicked. I want to get all the tedious stuff out of the way... if I get a ruff admit, it could take me 2 hours to get all that done... I'd rather not have to worry about getting chart checks done at 9 am when I should be home asleep!!! Do hwat works for your, when done, offer your services, if they decline... at least you offered... don't sweat it...
Good luck... give yourself about 6 mos to hit that comfort zone and then it will all be downhill from there...
Usually the night shift has to spend hours clearing up all the drama left over from the day shift. :chuckle
:yeahthat:
I work in the CVICU where the pts don't know day from night. We have med giving, procedures, CT, x-rays, labs, talking to docs and baths all night long. It certainly keeps me wide awake. And I have to say, like other posters, the night shift crew where I am seems to get along better than the day shift.
I would probably pass out if I were in your situation. Good luck and try to find something to keep you occupied. Do you knit? :chuckle
You could use the time to write a book...how 'bout: 101 things to do with silk tape and IV tubing!
Specializes in Geriatric, LTC, PC, home care, pediatric.
I enjoyed working night shift in LTC because usu everyone had your back, and you had theirs. Every now and then you would run into a weirdo, and I did staff relief, so I was different places different nights of the week. I enjoyed the fact that the big wigs weren't around. And most places had fun and got silly just to stay awake. We would talk about our kids etc. Knit, crochet, read etc. I did find that the ones who seemed the busiest were the ones who were the laziest. The ones who spent the most time with the charts were actually sleeping with their eyes open. So find your niche, or system that works for you and go for it. Do your work, if done early, offer help, if it is turned down, find something for yourself to do. Walk the halls for exercise, read a good book, cross stitch, crochet, knit, etc. Good luck!
I started night shift about two months ago. I came from bussy day shift and before that I spent two years on my most favorite shift - swing (Oh how I miss you, my cheerfull, sometimes b****y but allways lively swing shift girlfriends!)
My question is, what the heck am I missing on Night shift????
Estrogen, I know exactly the type of long hours of nothing you mean with the same kind of quiet coworkers. When I know I'm working with the quiet girls on night shift, I generally bring a book to read, the story I'm writing, and drink lots of Mountain Dew! If you can't depend on your coworker's chatter to keep you up, depend on yourself! :wink2:
That said, I'm quite lucky to have some CNAs who are able to talk for most of the night like I am, so with them working, sleeping isn't as much of a problem. Walking up and down the halls and taking a quick "fresh-air break" sometimes works as well!
To respond to the fact that so many have brought up about many religious people seeming to work night shift, it's probably because night shift is the only shift that will enable them to get to Church. I know I could never work days, because it would interfere with my Mass schedule. Besides, with the slower pace night shift can tend to have, you can get the chance to just talk a while longer with some of your patients that stay up a little later. It would be very difficult for me to give that contact up! I hope you can make night shift work out for you, Estrogen; if you're the talkative type, I wish you could work where I do -- I love working with talkative people!
I hear ya... sounds like you work at my hospital on my unit!!! Do I know you??? ......Wanda
....and everyone else who understood,
Oh thank you so much for the kind words of support! I feels so god to know that someone has been there... I don't feel so much like a freak anymore. :loveya:
Now, for those who said, that there ARE times, when there's nothing to do and you spend time reading a book, knitting, crosheting etc. Is that OK? No one complains, no one is offended?
It's just that I'm not used to this. I've never been in this kind of situation before, where I was not bussy on the job and spent my payed hours basically not working... So I feel like I'm doing something wrong all the time.... Horrible feeling. :chair: I'm an over achiever and I could never deal with some kind of criticism for this...
...And besides, it sure would help if one had someone to talk to at four or five in the am, when the "critical hour of sleepyness" hits. 
I hope you can make night shift work out for you, Estrogen; if you're the talkative type, I wish you could work where I do -- I love working with talkative people! 
PJMommy
517 Posts
HA HA!! Amen, sister!!
I think it depends on your unit and the culture. I work ICU and all goes on as it does during the day....just fewer med students and family around. Baths, meds, codes, drips, charting, and a crisis of any variety can usually be had.
As for the people on nights....well, it's amazing the deep conversations you can have at 3 AM. Not too mention how hysterically funny you find something by about 5 AM.
Perhaps you should suggest to your co-workers to do what we do....go for after-work cocktails. Ah, yes...last week, we recently celebrated Cinco de Mayo with Mexican beers at 7:30 AM.