Night shift vs Day shift: stop the hate

chicookie, BSN, RN · Jan 9, 2009

No because night shift is better. =P

Just kidding. I'm not sure. We don't do that here. Its pretty equal, but I think its because days and nights have worked the other shift at some point and they respect each other for it. Either way its hard.

Straydandelion · Jan 9, 2009

.....I think its because days and nights have worked the other shift at some point and they respect each other for it......

I agree and think this would be a good solution to the hatred.

RN1982 · Jan 9, 2009

Listen, nursing is a 24 hour a day job. At some point, people are gonna have to grow up and deal with the fact that some things are left undone after each shift. No shift is better than the other. And in my experience, the ones who complain the most are the ones who are the laziest.

CNA_Timmy · Jan 9, 2009

I always have to walk the line, seeing as how I work days and nights. I am always hearing each shift talk about the others. But seriously. Yes the day shift is busy, but there staffing is awsome (they have 4-5 patients per nurse, and several aides). The midnight is not quite as busy, so long as the ER is not full or some random doc hasn't gone into a 1201 admit streak, but each nurse has 7-8 patients and there is only one aide (granted this is just my hospital). It is all a case of the grass is greener on the other side.

RN1982 · Jan 9, 2009

I always have to walk the line, seeing as how I work days and nights. I am always hearing each shift talk about the others. But seriously. Yes the day shift is busy, but there staffing is awsome (they have 4-5 patients per nurse, and several aides). The midnight is not quite as busy, so long as the ER is not full or some random doc hasn't gone into a 1201 admit streak, but each nurse has 7-8 patients and there is only one aide (granted this is just my hospital). It is all a case of the grass is greener on the other side.

True. Recently, someone ran to management at work and stated that nights wasn't pulling their weight. They stated to the manager that days gets more admissions which is not true because I've worked both shifts and I got way more admits on nights than on days. I find it ironic that some co-workers complained about my night shift co-workers when I routinely come in and find things that haven't been done like adjusting the insulin drip according to our protocol, supplementing lytes according to protocol, not changing I.V. lines that are past due and leaving patients on soiled linen and leaving patients looking disheveled.

When day shift comes in there are quite a few nurses who plop themselves down in front of a computer and start logging into facebook or texting on the cellphone before going to see their patients. We work in an ICU for cryin' out loud. Don't you think seeing your patients FIRST trumps logging into facebook or texting on your phone? its ok if there is downtime. It has been so bad that one of the particular nurses left a patient with low urine output for FOUR hours and I'm talking less than 10cc an hour, he was in so much pain following his surgery that he didn't want to move. This nurse waited four hours before addressing the low urine output. And when she addressed it, it was an hour before my shift so when I came on, the patient had to receive more fluid boluses and needed a PCA order to control his pain. And when I had to give report to that nurse the following morning and I explained everything including "Don't you think the patient looks more comfortable now." and all she could say was "Oh". It goes both ways, I've had crap from both shifts. But the above I described is just ridiculous.

Granted the pace can be slower at night but I don't leave my patients a mess when I go home and I make sure that all of my work is completed so that the next shift doesn't have a hard time. It would be better if people worked together instead of against each other. I hate to say it but I work with a bunch of whiners who will constantly nitpick about whether or not a canister that has 100cc of GI fluid was emptied or they complain about whether or not they have to pick the assignment with two patients rather than the singled patient assignment. It's frustrating to no end.

Sorry to hijack.

CNA_Timmy · Jan 9, 2009

HAHA!! I know! I think we should make all the shifts change places for a few days so they can both see what they are missing. Although I have to say that was horrible about your low urine output pt! I hope that nurse was reprimanded, or at least I hope he/she felt some remorse!

RN1982 · Jan 9, 2009

She's an idiot, I doubt she feels anything.

racing-mom4, BSN, RN · Jan 9, 2009

I am lucky that I dont typically hear those comments I work in a smaller unit and we pretty much by all accounts get along--we each have at our own time picked up an opposite shift or two than we normally work so we all know the differences days and nights can bring...One time recently though I did want to wrap my tiny little fingers around a day nurses neck as she did happen to work the night before and me a night person happened to work that day ---so she was giving me report for days--total reversal of what we normally do and she said "oh I dont know how you do it, I had to walk the halls 12x last night just to stay awake--I cleaned the linnen room and the kitchen room and checked the exp on all the drugs in the crash cart" OK so we had a slow night, those are like little gifts to me they dont happen often and she happened to work on the night we had one and her complaint was "how can you stay awake?" UGH UGH....she knows she has worked nights before she has worked nights were the admits come as fast as the transferes or deaths. She has had Drs call in and give 101 orders and then call back in 20 and want a full update. I could go on and on...totally lost topic of original post didnt I???

Short answer--I hope it doesnt get too bad, I read another post on here once about night shift admin un-prescribed suppositorys at 0600. Ya that is bad..funny but bad!! What can you do---smile during report and say "wow, sounds like you had a busy day" adn then before you leave make sure your stuff is done .

RN1982 · Jan 9, 2009

LOL thats funny. I did that one time at my old job. I had a patient who needed to have an enema and had to drink some mag citrate before a colonscopy at 2pm. I gave it at 6am. The nurse who had the patient was one who always nitpicked everything. What could I do though? Pharmacy didn't send the mag citrate until 5am. Of course she had something to say about it "Why didn't you give it earlier?", I said "well, I didn't have time to call pharmacy every single minute of my shift."

suni, BSN, RN · Jan 9, 2009

I have worked both shifts and agree that staffing is different although the workload is comparable. The acuity of patients is much higher and the amount of IV medication has increased thus adding to the RN workload. Add the fact that many med surg units are also now adding tele into the mix and what ever shift you work ....you work!

The key is to work together to provide the best care for the patient ensuring patient and nurse safety and sanity!

If you need extra help, shout to the shift supervisor, I know that when you get hit with admissions on night shift not only are you doing the nurse part but many times you also are doing the secretary part of putting the chart together, taking off orders, calling phlebotomy etc, so the ancillary help is not available that is there on day and evening shift.

Maybe facilities should consider limiting use of internet by blocking it if they find that this is a problem and the only way to know that is to tell your manage. It is not like grade school where it is tattlling on a child this is the adult world, do you work or get out!

ams02 · Jan 9, 2009

i run into that too, luckily we have (well majority has) talked it out. the bottom line is that there is 2 much for any shift to FINISH. nursing is a 24 hour job, and i dont know about your mgr, but ours wants us gone as close to 7:30 as possible. so when im getting report i just make sure to tell them what needs to be done with the explanation of "i just didnt get to it" and thats it. when im getting report, i respond with "thats fine, ill get it go home" now granted, were all trying our best(?) but if we as coworkers arent kind to each other?? then what???