momofdandm

Thanks for the replies, everyone. My son is 11. He always wants to stay up late with me before my first night back to work, when I am trying to get into '3rd shift mode'. Sometimes he makes it until around 3:00 am, so making him stay awake probably won't work, as he is always asking to stay up late on Friday nights, anyway, lol. Yeah, I do agree on hubby setting the example. We were watching a movie last night, and of course I fell asleep halfway through it, at around 9:30 pm or so. I always say, "you try switching your sleep schedule back and forth like I do every week and see how good you sleep". Of course, I'm sure it doesn't make a difference what I say. But that's what this board is for, is to vent!

I work 7p-7a on weekends. I have trouble a lot of the time switching my sleep/wake cycles from when I work (mainly weekends) and when I'm at home during the week. Some nights I sleep fine, other nights I'm wide awake, and have to sleep during the day to make up for it. My son told me that I was lazy for sleeping during the day. I gave him a lecture on my work schedule and how it's hard to sleep/stay awake sometimes because of it. My husband has made remarks as well. However, I will NOT go to day shift. The pay is less and you have more work to do. So, in a way I'm venting, but I'm also asking other people to share their stories. How do you respond when your family gets mad at you for not staying awake during the day or for not staying in the bed at night (since you can't sleep)?

We have a 1-2-3 acuity sheet that each shift fills out. The charge nurse then uses it to determine the assignment for the oncoming shift. A 1 is for an easy pt. A&Ox3, ambulatory, not a lot of meds, hardly on the call light. A 3 is for q2h turns, drsg changes, lots of meds, on the call light constantly, incontinent. A 2 is anywhere in the middle There are numerous times where we put that a pt is 1-2. That is, they are an easy pt, but they have a little more going on that would make them closer to a 2 as well, but not quite a 2. Our acuity boards have things like drsg changes, discharges, accuchecks, we also write in if they are q2turns, have foleys, lot of prn pain meds, etc. It's a great system and all charge nurses use it wisely, for the most part, when making assignments.

Hey everyone. Has anyone worked at, or know someone who has worked at Gateway Medical Center in Clarksville, Tn? I'm curious as to the med-surg floor, such as pt load, pay, shift diff, do they have enough staff, on-call, etc. Would you recommend it as a place to work? Thanks!