Night Shift is Causing Panic Attacks

Dear Nurse Beth,

Almost 3 years a nurse. I found a hospital (call it Big Time Hospital) that I absolutely love. I work night shift currently. About 8 months into it on a med surg floor I was facing a really stressful situation, and the issue only got worse after management asked to see me about it. The next week I found myself in the same situation - I had a panic attack and had to go to the ED.

A month later, I was perfectly fine during my shift. I had no anxiety, patients were fine, and I was calm- except I was a little sweaty. I asked another nurse if they felt if it was warm in the floor, they said no. I wasn’t stressed out nor was I burned out. My iWatch dinged me with a message: “Your heart rate has been 130 for the past 10 minutes.” I grabbed s pulse ox and it was 133. I requested to go to ED. Dr thought it was my diabetes and diuresing too much with not enough fluid intake. They gave me 2 saline blouses and sent me off.

The next day I called off since I had trouble breathing and went back to the ED. They admitted me and did a full cardiac work up. Stress test was positive, heart cath only showed mild CAD - no stents or balloons needed. Drs in the WD before being admitted was certain I had s PE. They did a CT and said I haft the clearest lungs for a 40ish year old they ever saw,

As much as I like night shift, I feel like my body can no longer handle night shift. Since I was not stressed nor anxious, this was purely a physical problem I never faced and I listened to what my body was saying and immediately got seen.

The issue I am facing is that I am trying to switch to day shift, and to a different floor but I cannot find open positions on dayshift. I had to cut out my caffeine which used to keep me up and now two months later I still cannot physically function on night shift.

I really don’t know what path I should take right now- should I just wait until a day shift position opens? Should I contact my doctor to evaluate me and give me a medical reason to accommodate me to switch shifts (that would also involve HR to make accommodations)? I have no problem with my nursing care with patients- the main issue is struggling to stay alert while charting- I’ve honestly tried everything- standing, drinking water instead of other things, walking, etc. I enjoy night shift? But I feel like it’s putting too much physical strain on my body after this event. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Dear Wants Day Shift,

It's possible that you may still have panic attacks/tachycardia/dyspnea if you switch to day shift. Your first episode, the panic attack, started after a stressful event at work, following 8 months of no symptoms.

At the same time, some people cannot tolerate night shift and it is hard on the body. You can wait until there's an opening and apply. You could ask your doctor for a note restricting you to day shift, but the risk is that they do not have to accommodate you and may let you go.

It is best to find another position before quitting altogether, as it's harder to find a position when unemployed.

Best wishes,

Nurse Beth

Author, "Your Last Nursing Class: How to Land Your First Nursing Job"...and your next!