Noise on the Night Shift

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Has anyone had any luck reducing the amount of noise on your unit at night? My floor is constantly getting marked down on their Press Ganey scores because of noise levels at night. I started with posting signs on the unit. Our biggest problem is that the nurses station is right next to the patient rooms. Any ideas??

Specializes in Med/Surg, Nurse Educator..
:eek: oh dear, same here...noise is inevitable esp. if noise comes from patients and pts. relatives....We already discussed it in the unit, we facilitated conferences also esp. if graveyard shifts...but no solution.:sofahider..we made posters for the whole unit, but still no use....:banghead: tc...
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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.

It's been said before, if people want to sleep, the last place you get peace and quiet is a hospital room.

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Specializes in ER, Tele, L&D. ICU.

another common complaint is the visitor's noise in the middle of the night (people, gulp, cheering when the baby is born) or when i start work at 1900 i check in with my patient and get a sigh because people have been in and out all day-and i check the assesements and say "your nurse?" and they go no i had visitors all day and than 'you guys' are coming in and out constantly -well i guess if we could train the visitors to do assessments we would take the pain out of bothering you! we actually need to be there-on our unit the visitor policy is so lax that people are in and out at all hours. i *hate* hearing that she could not breasfeed her baby because she had visitors! ask them to leave-this is feeding your baby!!:eek:

i think i went off on a tangent there, i'm sorry....

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Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

I have no problem shooing noisy and out of control visitors out. I always explain upon admission, if their visitors are not respectful of others' need for privacy and sleep, they will be asked to leave. Setting the tone early and from the point they come in helps-----also helps to follow through. The guests are NOT allowed to mill in the hallways, gather at doors and make nuisances of themselves in open areas. They are asked to use the visitors' lounges either on our unit or the first floor. Most people comply-----some are very difficult, to be sure.

I guess back to the OP, your manager could follow up and ask specifically what the noises ARE that they complain of. Some are avoidable (gathering and blabbering endlessly in hallways, at the nurses' station)---some are NOT (confused patients, or patients in labor screaming in pain or crying babies). You can't do anything about certain noises ---others you can address. If they are truly complaining about every pin drop, then you have a QUIET unit and nothing you can do will satisfy THESE people, so you should not sweat it.You will make some noise, just doing your job, clearly.

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One thing that could be done is concerning staff who are noisy, laughing, talking loudly, they need to be written up, IMHO.

Supervisors should take a more active part in this and write up people if they are being noisy and disturbing.

I should have done that in the nursing home I worked in, but I wasn't sure what kind of support I would get....there was no support for anything else.

Anyway, staff should be more respectful of patient's needs to rest and sleep.

Some noise can be reduced. NOT all of it, but a good portion.

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Specializes in Pediatrics.

I remember several months ago when I first started night shift, I had no concept that people would even WANT to talk at 2 a.m. :chuckle But now that I've been on it for a while, sometimes it's hard to forget that while I am (mostly) wide awake, the patients and their parents are usually fast asleep at this time!!! It is my "daytime", but it can be hard to remember it's not that for the families. Usually we don't talk too loud but can get carried away sometimes, the charge nurse usually reminds us to be quiet. Though it does irk me when things happen like parents threaten to pull the pulse ox alarm off of a child who truly needs it (changing O2 needs or whatever reason) because "that *@!* thing keeps going off and I can't get any sleep!!!" no matter how promptly you respond to them each time it alarms- this is fortunately, a minority of parents.

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Specializes in ICU, step down, dialysis.

I have never worked LD/PP, but when I first heard years ago that there was a trend to combine these two units together, all I kept thinking was was the noise...screaming mothers in labor next door with exhausted ones who already delivered trying to get some rest? I don't get that really, but then again, I don't work those areas, so maybe I'm wrong to assume that. Do you think it's better to have them separated? I've always been curious about that.

The last night I worked one of our patient's complained about the loud screaming (someone was delivering) I work on an LBRP unit. I *almost* wanted to remind her that was her not 26 hours previously! That is our most common complaint, that and the babies crying!!
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My son was in a bad accident last Memorial weekend, believe it or not, he was hit by a firetruck on his bicycle. He had an angel watching over him because all that happened was a fractured ankle. He had surgery to have pins put in, they kept him for 2 nights afterwards. I spent both nights with him. I could not believe the amount of noise. Nurses were talking and laughing right outside the door. You could hear everything. It is bad enough that you don't sleep while in the hospital, but when you are not feeling well and you are trying to rest, that is another story! I am sure other places are better for sleeping. No sleep also makes testy patients and slower healing. So remember to whisper in the halls if you need to talk at night...lol Shhhhhhhh :nono:

KN

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And on the other side of the coin, maybe some hospital workers forget that patients are sick and sick patients need rest. Sick people heal faster if they can get peaceful rest.

Staff congregating around the desk and loud talking, laughing and the tv playing loudly in the lobby area in front of the desk, all night long. This is not discussing things. This is avoidable noise. JMHO............not debating, but I do know there are two sides to every coin.

I have to agree. When my mother was in the hospital the nursing staff would congregate at the nures' station and you would hear guffawing and cackling all night long. This was not only incredibly rude but why do some nurses complain about not being regarded as professionals then engage in this type of behavior?

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This is another one of my pet peeves! I work LTC, and the last time I politely suggested to my CNAs that they keep it down so the residents could sleep, I ended up in an argument with one of them because I "can't tell no grown person to be quiet," and that "no one is the charge of" him.

He had a major attitude, and I got one right back. Let's just say it did not end peacefully. He quit and abandoned his patients. Luckily admin and DON backed me up on that one - I think he had some kind of chip on his shoulder b/c we went to school together and he didn't like me being his charge nurse. :uhoh3:

I also hate that they turn the bright hall lights on while doing bed checks. There are at least 2 night lights in each room and at least 20 up and down each hall. There is plenty of light to see. We have many residents who prefer that their door is kept open, and when the lights are turned on it hits them right in the face.

I walk up and down those halls in the dark all night long, so why can't they?

:angryfire :angryfire :angryfire

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Specializes in ER, Tele, L&D. ICU.
I have never worked LD/PP, but when I first heard years ago that there was a trend to combine these two units together, all I kept thinking was was the noise...screaming mothers in labor next door with exhausted ones who already delivered trying to get some rest? I don't get that really, but then again, I don't work those areas, so maybe I'm wrong to assume that. Do you think it's better to have them separated? I've always been curious about that.

This is a *huge* point of contention with our combined staff! No one wanted to join the two units and we are having huge growing pains. An obvious question of most patients/visitors is 'these walls must be sound proof, right?" and I usually respond with-had a woman designed them, absolutely, but unfortunately, no they are not, which is then met with a shocked surprise!:eek:

It is awful. LBRP and any MN unit is a very unique unit as we get admissions constantly, visitors constantly there is very little quite time-we are always transferring people, FHM alarming, IVIP alarming, PCA's alarming, Nitrous Oxide alarming doc's calling at all hours, STAT overhead pages. Housekeeping is always changing over rooms-NOT a place for rest. No wonder our patients want to be d/c'd at 24 hours! I actually had a C/S leave at her 24 hours, which was 0420! We call our unit the NewYork of units-the one that never sleeps!

G'Day

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I am both a nurse and have been a patient. I know that noise can be controlled. The most annoying thing for someone trying to get better is the loud and rambunctious (oh my goodness that's my mom saying that) nite shift communicating with each other. The laughter and calling out to each other is so totally not called for. We all want a pleasant work atmosphere but patient requirements for rest and recovery preclude any loud comments about the GB in 202 or the Dementia in 205....Which is a whole nother topic....lol

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