7p-7a question

Nurses General Nursing

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Specializes in Transplant.

Hello all !

I will be graduating in May and, so far, the positions I have interviewed for have been for the 7p-7a shift (which is what I want to work anyway). During clinicals, we have only done day shift rotations and, therefore, I have no idea what to expect from this 7p-7a shift. As a new grad, it seems like I would be missing out on A LOT of meds, dressing changes, procedures, etc because the majority of the time the patient will be sleeping?

I am curious from those of you that have worked both shifts, do I have any reason to worry? And, what sort of things do you do on this shift.

Thanks In Advance,

Flea

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Specializes in ED, ICU, Heme/Onc.

:lol2:

I rotate, so while night shift is more peaceful with regards to interruptions for tests, MD visits, families, PT/OT, etc., you will get plenty of hands on patient care working nights.

I do more dressing changes working night shift, pass a lot of meds at the 2000/2100, give lots of blood - etc.

And if you ask day shift to leave something for you to do, they will be most happy to oblige!! ;)

Good luck!

Blee

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Don't worry about getting enough experience. You will get it soon enough. Just do your job and learn from anything that comes your way

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:lol2:

i rotate, so while night shift is more peaceful with regards to interruptions for tests, md visits, families, pt/ot, etc., you will get plenty of hands on patient care working nights.

i do more dressing changes working night shift, pass a lot of meds at the 2000/2100, give lots of blood - etc.

and if you ask day shift to leave something for you to do, they will be most happy to oblige!! ;)

good luck!

blee

i had to laugh :lol2: at this one. i work nights (as a huc, not a nurse yet), but believe me, all the patients will not be sleeping. at times it may seem as if they are more awake, because when you spend so much time in bed, nights and days just seem to blend. the nurses i work with do have med passes and procedures that need to be done.

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it completely depends on the type of unit that you will be working on. if it's an acute unit, you may have a lot to do no matter what shift you work.on the other hand, when i worked on a med surg unit, i ran around with my head chopped off for much of the 12 hrs. like someone else mentioned, take whatever experience comes your way because as a new grad, it will be invaluable. good luck

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Specializes in tele, stepdown/PCU, med/surg.

I work on an acute tele/med/surg floor night shift and most patients don't sleep. If they do tend to sleep, we wake them up! What I mean is there's plenty of stuff to do at night. There are meds to give, admits to take, people can easily become unstable at night or in the early morning.

You will get great experience, don't worry.

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Oh Yeah, I've worked night shift too .... there's plenty of experiences to be had on nightshift. No, people don't just sleep all night. Nursing is a 24/7/365 deal - and that's because it has to be. You'll get good experiences! Good luck, and welcome to nursing.

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Specializes in Peds - playing with the kids.

trust me, theer will be lots to do!;)

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I work 7p-7a on an extremely busy tele floor, but spent part of my orientation on days. There are not as many of the types of procedures you're referring to as there are on days but as someone else stated there is still plenty to do. I found day shift very difficult to manage with patients coming/going for procedures, docs & family in and out, constantly new orders on charts. We do 24 hour chart checks at nights as well as sign off on the medication records for the upcoming day so it is a great way to become familiar with the chart, procedures and labs that are ordered. Also, we get new admissions up from the ER every night so night shift is actually taking care of new orders that will give you a chance to learn skills (IV sites, ng tubes, etc.). Good luck!

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Just about everything that is done on the day shift is also done at nights. Just because the patients are supposed to be in bed doesn't necessarily mean all of them are sleeping or even that they're in the bed. Sometimes (many times) they keep you running ALL night: the sundowners without sitters who start to act up, the ETOH-ers and substance abusers who won't settle down no matter how many PRN drugs you give them, the supposedly stable patient who suddenly develops lethal arrythmias or respiratory problems, the ones who wake up confused in the middle of the night and pull out their IVs and start bleeding everywhere, code browns---often, with no PCAs to be found anywhere to help you do anything, non-stop new admissions, and, worst of all, the dreaded 'code blue'. The list goes on and on.

You still have to do your shift assessments and pass your round the clock and PRN meds. Even if the patients are asleep you have to wake them up to give meds or do treatments at the time ordered by the doctor. You have to do your charting, and then you have to do your 24-hour check-off on all your patients' charts to make sure that everything that was ordered has been done.

Where I work the action is non-stop all day and all night. Its a regular thing for us to prep a patient stat for a procedure, a diagnostic test, or even for the OR in the middle of the night if the patient starts to go bad and the physician orders it. And some of the rooms here have guest suites where the families can stay overnight, and sometimes its not that different from working during the daytime at all. And the nursing supervisors are like the wind---they're everywhere, looking for even a glimpse of a vacant bed so they can send more patients.

I hardly find myself with enough time to finish passing early am meds, hang drips, do blood sugar checks, etc. Before you know it its 5am and the docs are in the unit grabbing up all the charts and clipboards and asking questions. Then the day crew shows up and everybody wants report now.

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You'll still get a lot of experience on nights. You have dressing changes, meds, trach care, tubefeeds, catheters to irrigate, assessments, and all that kind of stuff. Plus, at my facility on nights we change the aerosol set-ups, O2 tubing, and anything else that gets changed, get the MAR's ready for changeover, things like that. The only thing I don't like about nights is when you have to call the doctor and family if there's a fall or condition change.

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

Actually, night nurses have to be a bit more autonomous and resourceful often.......you dont' have the in-hospital support you do on dayshift, in some hospitals. You will find yourself quite busy----doing things that others did not get to during the day, or for which there is no or very reduced staffing at night (like pharmacy/dietary/lab etc). You will be busy doing many things, and you will learn, a lot, no matter WHAT shift you start out on. Days and nights do tend to have their own routines-----but all work plenty hard.

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