night shift nurses-

SarasotaRN2b · Feb 9, 2006

Well, I'm not a nurse yet (I'm a unit coordinator), but I do work nights. Are you working 7 p to 7 a? or 11 to 7 a? I am also working on a busy med/surg respiratory floor so it can get hectic at times.

What I have found is that our busiest times are from 7 to 11, and then it starts slowing down enough where the nurses can do their charting, etc. that is not to say that things can't get crazy in the middle of the night,but I definitely prefer nights versus days.

In regards to the doctors, if a doctor is needed at 3 am, they are called at 3 am. Most MDs will have some sort of call schedule, so they have to realize that if they are on call, they may very well be called. I have found that it is rare that you have a problem with calling, also those doctors that do give us grief would give us grief no matter what time they are called, day or night. An additional advantage that we have are the hospitalists that are pretty cool and willing to help.

Kris

maggijo · Feb 9, 2006

I also have questions about night shifts. How do people survive in terms of changing sleep patterns, etc.? Is is necessary to keep the same sleep schedule every day/night, whether you are working that night or not? I would love to be able to work nights eventually, but don't know if I will lose my mind getting my body used to it. Advice from anyone about this?

Thanks!

JentheRN05, RN · Feb 9, 2006

I just quit my night job after 4 months because my body never got adjusted (among other things) I was sick constantly, even though I took a vitamin every day. I just couldn't get well, even had pink eye which I hadn't had since I was a kid!

I quit last Friday, my body still isn't right yet, I have a hard time sleeping at night and have to take a sleeping pill or a muscle relaxer to get to sleep. I didn't fully change from sleeping nights to sleeping days. On my first day off (after working the night before) I'd sleep all day, and still go to bed with my hubby that night with the assistance of a muscle relaxer or sleeping pill. Next day would be my bad day, not able to stay awake during the day so took naps during the day and still went to bed the following night. If I was lucky to have 4 days off in a row then I would be normal for about 1 1/2 days, only to have to force myself to sleep during the day during the day prior to a shift.

My body was so completely out of balance there was no way of making it right, I had tried to long, and was working sick all the time. I got tired of it, not to mention the fact was accused of something I would NEVER do (refusing to turn a patient at the end of the shift and telling the family the patient would have to wait until next shift!) so between the two things (there were plenty more but these were the worst) I quit. No notice, when the manager called me in to discuss me being written up for things I didn't do I simply said, "I'm NOT doing this anymore" dropped my stuff made sure day shift was still there (they were) told my charge nurse I was leaving, and left. Oh I was PO'd. I still am, that totally hurt my integrity, I am and never have and never would be a nurse that would make a patient wait for ANYTHING until the next shift came on!

In my opinion (and the opinion of many of my patients and several fellow nurses) I am the most compassionate nurse they had. All it took was one bad seed in the bunch to lose me.

Boy a little bit of advice turned out to be a book, sorry.

stn2003, RN · Feb 9, 2006

JentheRN05- sounds like you needed to vent : ) I hope you take some time to relax and let your body get back on its normal schedule and then find a good position on days someplace!

SarasotaRN2b- I am on the 7p-7a shift.

Thanks for your responses!

LoriAlabamaRN · Feb 10, 2006

I work 11p-7a, and my husband is also a nurse, he works 7p-7a. We love night shift and wouldn't change it for anything.

When you work nights, as far as calling the MD you will soon learn when to make that decision. If someone is suffering or has the potential to suffer from not calling, call. I have a simple way to handle the MDs who want to be an a** about being called. One of ours, Dr. X, once tried to chew me out for calling at 2am about a resident who was in a great deal of pain from a recent procedure but had nothing prescribed. Well, the first thing the MD said was "And you thought you had to call me and WAKE ME UP FOR THIS?!?!?!? I sweetly said "Yes sir, I knew that you wouldn't want the resident to suffer all night long." Well, what could he say to that? Yes I did? i mean, all he could do is gruffly say "Alright give them such-and-such."

Just remember that you are the patient advocate and stand your ground. Most people are very understanding, and doctors are used to being woken up at night.

HeatherLPN · Feb 10, 2006

I work 6p-6:30a. After report I start my medpass and treatments, any monthly vitals, temps for those on ATB therapy, assessments, ect. So 6-10 just flies by. Then I start paperwork and charting. By then it's time for 12a meds. Then more paperwork, and before I know it, it's time for morning medpass. Some nights there are alot of interruptions and I try to help my aides out when I can too. I work on a locked unit, with a lot of behaviors and confused residents, so there are some really interesting nights. I've called doctors in the middle of the night (which I hate), but sometimes it has to be done. Some are good about it, and some will call you every name in the book. Don't let them intimidate you. It's better to make them mad then to have a major problem or have the family on your butt b/c something wasn't addressed. I've even called the DON in the middle of the night to address a problem.

Nice thing about nights is that office people aren't there and you don't have someone constantly looking over your shoulder. And when state comes they are there during the day, so you don't have to worry about that either LOL.

As far as keeping awake and sleeping when you need to, well, coffee is your friend. If you get tired, do rounds with your aides, talk with them, ect. Don't hole up at the nurses' station with paperwork when you know there's a chance you'll doze off. Clean your medcart, stock things up, walk to another hall and talk to their nurse for a few minutes, go to the breakroom and grab a drink. I've gotten myself in the habit to where I can go to sleep as soon as I get home, then I get up in time to get my kids at school. If I don't have to work the next night, I get up around 11 or 12, so that I can sleep that night. I do keep sleeping pills on hand, but anymore it's rare that I have to use them. My first few night jobs I couldn't adjust to, but since I work 12 hour shifts now, it's only 3 days/week, so I seem to have alot easier time. Plus I usually work my 3 nights in a row and that helps.

Good luck!

froghair · Feb 10, 2006

ive worked nights for around 5 years some people like them, some people hate them. on my days of i still keep to my night duty times. i sleep when im tired i get up when im not.......... it also helps being single..........alot of the time nurses who go onto nights can will themselves sick, best to just get on and work them. normally im ok at staying a wake but some nights from around 3-5 am can be a struggle......oh and nights in summer can be a killer when its hot. if you can chose to do nights in the year doing them during winter is the best

luv4nursing · Feb 11, 2006

I am totally NOT a night person. I used to bw the type who went to bed by 10 or 11 and woke up cheerful. I could function well early in the day but by the end I wasnt worth a dime. Even in school, I would be tired in the evenings so I would go to bed early and wake up at 3 or 4 am to study! Thats how I was.

Well Im suprised to say that after a few months of working nights, Im a night person! The good thing is my hubby works nights too and we have some of the same days off so it works for us. Now, even when Im off, Im up half the night watching tv or online or whatever. My only problem is when I switch from being off to going back to work, if I slept the night before and stayed up all day, Im tired by the time I get to work at 7p.

A few things that helped me get used to it: Coffee! but not too much bc u crash off of it which isnt much fun! I also find I do better if I come home in the morning, eat, and get whatever I need to do done for a few hours, then go to sleep.....versus going to sleep first thing and getting up a few hours before work. Also Ive noticed I am much more energetic since Ive started working out right before I go to work in the evening. That seems to both give me energy to make it thru my shift as well as relax me to help me sleep. My bodys rhythm seems to have really evened out since I started that! Take vitamins, drink water, and force yourself to lay down even if u cant sleep--

your body will fight sleep in the day at first but eventually it will give in. If u go without sleep u will only wear down your immune system and get sick.

Good luck!

mcleanl · Feb 11, 2006

I worked nights in ICU for many years, first because the money was better but then because of childcare. There are a couple things about nights that I loved....first, night shift staff is usually more fun, there are usually fewer family members and parking in typically easier (if that is an issue).

My advice......don't eat carbs during the night, stick with protiens. It is amazing how well this works. When I fall off the wagon and eat carbs during the night I can almost gaurantee that I will end up feeling very sleepy before morning.

Nights can take a toll on your body there is no question. Keep up with your rest and good luck.

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Feb 12, 2006

I worked 8 hour 11-7 shifts for many years. I found that going to sleep at 1 or 2pm in the afternoon and getting up at 8 or 9pm and treating it like the start of a day helped with the 5am slump. 5am is usually when things are slowest and you are more likely to sit down for a few minutes of a break and risk nodding off to sleep. I just tried to stay active if I ever got sleepy. Getting your mind involved in some problem will keep you awake. My old standby was to clean. I cleaned drawers, the frig, cabinets, etc. We had the cleanest and most organized med carts in the hospital (if I do say so myself!). The basic criteria I use about calling a doctor in the middle of the night is that I am calling him expecting to get an order for a treatment or medication that has to be done NOW. If in doubt, discuss whether to call or not with a co-worker or the supervisor and get their blessing first. Otherwise, I would wait until 7am and call the doctor before I left to go home just so that he would have the opportunity to question me if he wanted since I had been with the patient for the last 8 hours. It was also to take the burden of notifying the doctor of something that occurred on my shift rather than pass it on to the next shift to do.

My mother who also worked nights, had aluminium foil covering her bedroom windows so not a speck of light came in through them. Her bedroom was pitch black, I'm not kidding. As long as there wasn't loud noise in the neighborhood, you could sleep for a year in there regardless of the time of day. She also would sometimes turn her phone off when she went to sleep. Everyone in the family knew not to call and wake her up if you didn't want to get yelled at.

dthomask · Feb 12, 2006

I've only been a nurse for 7mos and love nights! I only work 3-4 days a week. The first couple of mos is hard, but stay positive and I agree w/ all the other reply's. Rest if you can't sleep, turn your phone off, and drink plenty of water and exercise. If you start to get tired, get up and stock carts, replace gloves, etc. It's better money and less stress to me. It also helps you to think critically about when to call the doctor, but when you are at your wits end, just remember, the doctor, nurse, etc, is responsible for this patient, 24hrs a day, 7-days a week, so your priority is the patient always! I wiah you well!