Oh, you rode your high horse to work today

[fallrisk2008]

Venting: I'm so tired of the day shift nurses coming in and during report sneering or making demoralizing comments regarding the night shift nurses' actions. I oriented on day shift and I understand it's busy and demanding. I have never, ever, given a second thought to passing meds you didn't get to or cleaning up a patient's room. Nursing care is 24/7. And when I try to talk to you about it, you become defensive. I'm exhausted and sick of your attitudes!

"Oh, so have you checked the 0530 labs?" Mind you I've been passing meds since routine lab draw and haven't had time to check. They didn't even get processed until 0630 and now it's 7. You have a computer too...check it.

"Why didn't you [insert verb]?" Let's see, I didn't wake Ms. So and So at 2am and bladder scan her because the poor agitated lady was finally sleeping for the first time in days and besides it would interrupt my bon bon eating schedule.

I'd hate to ruin your delusions about what night shift is like, but really we don't sit around all night. When I have four or five patients, three of which are total care I'm running to provide for them. So don't come in all bright eyed at 0700-or 0730 since you're late ALL THE TIME and think you have all the answers. And if you roll your eyes when I try to explain why something was done or not done, don't think we don't see it. Take the freaking chip off your shoulder, wipe the condescending look off your face, and try a night shift sometime so you know what it's like. Oh, you tried night shift and couldn't take it...I see.

[PureLifeRN]

As a day shift nurse I understand that nursing is a 24/7 job, but when you get to the floor at 7am and take report on a patient and there are tons of stuff still left to do....guess who gets yelled at by the doctor at 8am because the low potassium/H&H etc. wasn't addressed at 5:30am. Just like you dont like the eye rolling and sighing of day shift nurses, we also dont like that from doctors....but they rarely are as polite as that.

But I do understand that there are nights that are very crazy and I think both shifts should be patient with the other. It's not that I am upset I have to do the work, its that I have a very limited time before our docs round.

[PostOpPrincess, BSN, RN]

Woot to the night shift peeps!

[november17, ASN, RN]

guess who gets yelled at by the doctor at 8am because the low potassium/H&H etc. wasn't addressed at 5:30am.

If you're getting yelled at over goofy labs not getting addressed at 5:30am and it is now 8am then it sounds like the physician is a lazy jerk. Just my humble opinion.

And you also maybe only have a limited time before physicians round but at least day shift has physicians easily available. Night shift gets to deal with the "on call" physicians that know absolutely nothing about the patient if something happens to go wrong or needs to be addressed. It can be a real pain in the ass, especially if there are serious issues that need to be addressed (I honestly don't consider a K+ of 3.3 or a HGB of 8.0 a serious issue that can't wait 2 hours but maybe I'm a little too cavalier:P)

[PedsDrNurseTheo, ADN, BSN, MSN, DNP, RN, EMT-P, NP]

If you're getting yelled at over goofy labs not getting addressed at 5:30am and it is now 8am then it sounds like the physician is a lazy jerk. Just my humble opinion.

Then YOU tell that to God's gift to Cardiothoracic surgery when he rounds at 7:45 - 15 minutes after I've finished getting report - and throws lab sheets at me demanding to know what's going on with his patient.

Let me know how that works for ya.

'Cause I just say "I'm sorry, what? Did you just throw a chart at me, doctor?" And then I tell him that we'll be addressing those labs just as soon as other priorities are met.

But it would be nice not to have the conversation in the first place.

And yeah, I've worked night shift, and day shift. If I didn't have a wife who wants me home and kids that like having Daddy tuck them in at bedtime, I'd be back on the dark side - because I wouldn't have docs rounding all the time and visits from various and sundry administrative honchos. It'd be me, the patients, the night attending, and my shift diff. I used to love that - but I'm a day shifter now. And no, I don't - I don't think I sigh. I know I've handed off my share of mop-up jobs, and I'll get my share handed to me. It's the job - we're a team - and getting ***** about it just poisons the well for everyone.

Just tell me you didn't get to it, please? That way Dr. Supercilious doesn't sandbag me, and we're all happier.

[november17, ASN, RN]

Then YOU tell that to God's gift to Cardiothoracic surgery when he rounds at 7:45 - 15 minutes after I've finished getting report - and throws lab sheets at me demanding to know what's going on with his patient.

There's a difference between labs not getting drawn and labs not being addressed. I'm just sayin. If gods gift cant read lab values, or he can't figure out what's going on based on the labs and his or her assessment, then I think there's a bigger issue going on than a lack of communication between night and day shift.

I'm PRN, I work both shifts so I definitely see both sides of it. If night shift doesn't like what I did or didn't do, they can lick it. Same goes for day shift. I answer to my manager, not the physicians. I'd never let a physician get away with throwing crap at me, personally. It has never happened (except the "banana incident*" and after a bunch of us hanging bananas all over the unit, sticking pictures of bananas in his charts, and pictures of bananas at the nurse station the physician in question never said another damned unprofessional word to me). I act professionally and expect everyone else to act the same, I think that comes across laterally between myself, the nurses I work with, the physicians, and their PAs/NPs. I'm also a male nurse, btw.

*The banana incident-There was this little old confused lady that had been admitted at around 3am on a Thursday night. This lady had managed to fall down and break the head of her femur off, so she needed to have it replaced (a "total hip arthroplasty", in medical terms).

I came to work at 7am. Anyways, this little lady was scheduled to have surgery at 9am that morning. I barely even saw her. I went in, said "hello!" made sure she was doing okay and then they carted her off to the operating room. At about 8:30am I got a phone call from the pre-operative nurse,

Pre-op nurse:"This lady is saying she had a banana for breakfast." (this is a big deal, because you can't eat for awhile before you have surgery otherwise the anesthesia department flips the **** out)

Me-"Uhhh...she's been NPO (nothing by mouth), I don't think she had anything for breakfast. She's a bit confused. Maybe she had a banana for breakfast yesterday or something."

Pre-op nurse:"Okay, thanks"

I started flipping out. So I quizzed the lady's daughter who had been in the room. She said, "No, my mom didn't eat anything." I asked the dietary people, they said, "No we didn't give her any food."

I called the operating room people and told them that "NEGATIVE SHE DID NOT EAT!"

So it's like the mystery of the banana that came out of nowhere, right? Like, the lady happened to have a banana in her pocket when she fell down and broke her hip..

About 30 minutes later I get another phone call. This time it's the ******* surgeon on the phone.

Doc-"I need to talk to the nurse for Mrs. X RIGHT NOW."

Me-"Well, that'd be me."

Doc-"Who the hell gave her food!?"

Me-"Doc, she's confused, she didn't eat anything. There was no banana."

Doc-"WHAT ? How did you know about the banana? Tell me what you know about this banana. "

Me-"Uhhh...well..ermm..The operating room nurse just called and asked me about it. I'll just tell you, as far as I know, she didnt eat a banana."

Doc-"Who the hell gave her a banana???? WAS IT YOU!!!?!?!??"

Me-"No it wasn't me. Nobody did. Seriously, she probably ate it yesterday and lost track of time."

Doc"I want to know RIGHT THIS MINUTE WHO GAVE HER THE BANANA!"

Me-"Can you hold for a minute I can ask around..."

Doc-"NO!!! I want to know right now!"

Me-"Doc, no one gave her a banana."

Doc-"I'm not getting off the phone until I find out who gave her a banana!"

Me-"Doc, no one gave her a banana. Seriously. Let me double check with everybody and if someone did I'll call you ok?"

Doc-"You're gonna tell me who gave her the banana."

Me-"Doc, I asked the lady's daughter, the dietary, no one gave her a banana. I don't carry bananas around in my pocket and give them to patients."

doc-"You do realize now she won't be able to have her hip replacement until monday, right?!?"

Me-"Seriously, nobody gave her a banana I'm 100% positive"

Doc-*CLICK* (hung up on me)

true conversation, based on an old lady that couldnt even remember her address, nonetheless the last time she ate a banana (she did end up having the surgery that day and there was a happy disney-style ending to it all)

[PedsDrNurseTheo, ADN, BSN, MSN, DNP, RN, EMT-P, NP]

There's a difference between labs not getting drawn and labs not being addressed. I'm just sayin. If gods gift cant read lab values, or he can't figure out what's going on based on the labs and his or her assessment, then I think there's a bigger issue going on than a lack of communication between night and day shift.

OK, I think I'm seeing the disconnect here.

We have protocols in place for a lot of things in the ICU that maybe aren't in place on the floor. So for us, a K+ of 3.3 better be addressed. And the physician will be snotty if there's not a reason why it wasn't.

And yes, he did throw a chart. Once. With the resulting conversation. I'm 6'3" and 220#.

"Did you just throw a chart at me, doctor?"

"Um. Sorry, I meant to set it down there."

"I see."

"I'll just pick that up, ok?"

"Thank you, doctor. Now what labs did you want addressed?"

"What are you doing about the K, and the Mag, and ..."

"The electrolytes are being replaced. Want me to call you with the recheck?"

"Um, no ... I'll look in later."

So yeah, ICU might be a little different - we hang a bag of K and move on with the rest of our tasks. But if the K doesn't get hung - things can get tense.

The point remains - if you didn't get to it, fine, but just tell me.

[tatarn2b2007]

A great post! My favorites are when day shift comes in and sort of listens to your report and goes and starts that drip that was dc'd at 0530 am when you last talked to the DR. Sorry, not starting a drip that was dc'd. Another favorite is after telling about the night you had when your intubated patient had NO sedation ordered and was 1mm away from being out of bed and walking down the hallway with the vent, the day shift asks if you bathed the patient. No, I am sorry, I was trying to keep them intubated and in bed. You can clean them when you have a tech, a monitor tech, and someone orienting and we had none of the above on night shift. I do understand it is crazy on days, but it is a different kind of crazy on nights. Just be nice and maybe talk about us behind our backs instead of the eye rolling and the snide remarks!

[Losingfaith]

New grad here, and I've already had my share of issues w/ day shift. You were busy all day, are you sure? Bc when I online this morning to wind down after a long night and 5 of you were on facebook and then again at 11 and 2 and 5 when I'm leaving to come back into my shift. Ha! Sure, night shift has some nights that '"everyone" slept quietly w/out events but don't tell me you didn't have time to do x, y, and z when you were on the internet half the day! I saw you.

I also saw the 4 of you walking back into the building from your smoking break when I was pulling into the parking lot to come back in. So you didn't verify the orders from 1830 because why? Oh, you addition to your cancer sticks got in the way of doing your job!

[Dalzac, LPN, LVN, RN]

I loved night shift and I wish I had a nickel for every time I ranted the same thing the OP did. I guess it is universal how the day shift come in and do the same thing to night shift

[locolorenzo22, BSN, RN]

my favorite is "well, I didn't call dr. so and so, because he hasn't been in yet and he'll be in tonight....um pt been here since 11! it's now 6! You think he's gonna be p****d that nobody bother to tell him his pt was here?

[ChristyRN2009]

I've worked both shifts, and at least at my place both shifts complain about each other. The big difference seems to be that while day shift might moan and groan during report, that's the last time they are doing so because you run your tail off the rest of the day. Whereas night shift, if something is missed, tells everyone on the shift about it, tells the head nurse, its a big ordeal. Until the day nurse comes in again the next day, is told about it, groans about it, but has no other time to really think about it the rest of the day, like pp said, lather, rinse, repeat.

Each shift doesn't understand the other. Night shift is expected to take care of all of the paperwork, the little loose ends like core measures, etc etc, in addition to taking care of patients who do get more confused, etc. Day shift is much more task oriented, everybody has to get up for the day, get a bath, get fed, get meds several times during the day, you deal with more visitors, and then there's the doctors and the administration, going for tests, etc. See what I mean, both parts suck but I'll be honest, I MISS the paperwork. For me, night shift work was easier, but the toll it took on my family and body was harder than day shift.

Guess what? Its all nursing and it all sucks! Sorry OP, wish things were better, perhaps next time someone rides in like that, say "well nursing is 24 hours, if you really feel its an issue I will be back on such and such a day, and if you can't handle doing it I'll be glad to then."

[coralreefRN]

EXCELLENT and accurate rant!. As a former night nurse I can attest to the dreaded attitude ladden morning report. And sometimes it's just one nurse but that's all it takes. I had one who would do 50 million questions about every patient but most of it was insignificant data stuff. I don't know why some nurses do this to other nurses. My attitude is: we are all here b/c we have to work for a living, can't we be pleasant and respectful to each other at work? Can't we look out for each other, have each others backs? We spend a lot of time at our place of work and our jobs are stressful so can't we support each other and NOT be another source of stress on the job? Can't you check the labs rather than sitting there looking for an opportunity to criticize me ?

Hang in there!!!!! And give kudos to yourself that YOU are not that type of nurse. You are the type other people enjoy working with. She is the type people dread working with or avoid or put up with as best they can. You are much better than that!

Good luck!

Mauread