futurenursethatcares

Nights might be kind of tricky with little ones. My girls are pretty well grown and were from the time I started nights. I have been on nights for 2 years. And it definitely would disrupt my sleep if they were still little. The youngest I would recommend would be school age. Then they are gone to school during the day giving you sleep time. Advantages to me is not having to deal with alot of families or office staff. I work in LTC and it's definitely usually alot quieter at night. No intercom, no DRs, and most of my residents sleep most of the night. Just my Hugs, Shawna

A similar situation happened to one of my co-workers. Only they did not call the cops it was 2 staff members went to her house. She was late for her shift (Not Normal at all) and we knew she had not been feeling well. After many phone calls that went unanswered, her upstairs neighbor getting no response, and her car was in the driveway we really began to worry. They went to her apt could see enough through the curtains that she was on the floor. Broke the window and went in. Found her grey, and unconcious on the floor. O2 sats had severely dropped, she had a bad URI. Thank god they found her. Or she wouldn't be with us now.

I have mixed feelings about night shift. I work in a LTC facility and have for about 3 years. Most of those 3 years I have been on night shift. I love the sometimes quiet of nights. There are nights that are not so quiet. Lots of call lights, etc. But overall quiet. I have a wonderful staff that I work with. We are truly a team at night because there is so few of us. The teamwork is awsome at night. Now the down side to nights even on your days off you spend a good amount of time sleeping trying to catch up a bit. And you miss out on a lot of things that go on during the day. I am currently going to school besides working to get my nursing degree I am only a CMA right now and working nights is helping me keep up with school also. So that is a big plus for me. I can take my homework to work and on quiet nights I can get in some extra study time. Also the extra pay at night is a big plus too. So yes I will probably be a night shifter at least for the next 3-4 years. And it's not so bad. You get used to the strange sleeping hours. Just my worth!!:icon_roll

Our facility hates overtime. I work at a LTC facility and if we get into too much overtime they think it means we are not using our time wisely to get everything done. Like charting, giving report at the end of shift etc. Well I work overnights and we work with a skeleton crew at night for a facility that has over 100 residents. Our crew consists of 6-7 people each night. There are soooo many nights I do not get my breaks and it is very hard to get out of there at 7:30am right on the dot on a normal night. Then if there is a fall or we have to ship someone to the hospital whatever there is absolutely no way I will be leaving on time. Especially if I am to do my job properly, making sure all my charting is complete, my relief nurse has a proper report, etc. So my question to these facilities that gripe about overtime is do you want us to properly do our job or to half-ass it just to leave on time? I know I get frustrated with some of the nurses in our facility who do their job half-assed just d/t laziness. Just my 2 cents, Shawna

I have been in healthcare for about 2 1/2 years now and of course I own lots of scrubs from several different companies. I love all the ideas I have been reading. Bigger pockets, better waist lines, etc, etc. One thing I would love to see in scrubs for winter time is a little heavier material. I work overnights and yes I have the bad smoking habit that until I finally quit I have to go outside and it gets mighty cold the wind going right through my pants. :monkeydance: Makes me feel like this monkey dancing around to stay warm. LOL Anyway, that would be my wish. Hugs to you all, Shawna

Thank you all for your words of encouragement. I am getting closer to actually diving in. I just need to figure out financing and scheduling etc. I work 12 hour nights and need to see what kind of school schedule I can sort out around that. This is still scary but if I'm gonna do this I just need to do it!! And stop being a chicken. LOL :rotfl: I definitely want to take it one step at a time. I started as a CNA and now a CMA then it's time for the next step LPN then RN. I will be working the whole time so I think that will be the best. I just keep reminding myself it's gonna be alot of work but it will all be worth it when I'm done. Hugs to you all, Shawna:nurse:

Exactly we just need to do it!! There are so many reasons that I want to. I just need to remember those and take the plunge.

chiari, I'm right there with you. I'm 37 (just turned last weekend) and I want to get my nursing degree. I'm working as a CMA right now in a LTC facility and love it!! But I want more. I'm also scared. Scared of the lack of sleep I will have for the next several years(I want to go for my RN). And scared of being the oldest in my classes since I waited so long to go back to school. I'm also scared that I won't any where near remember everything I'm supposed to in class or in real life situations. Any advice from anyone out there?? Hugs, Shawna

]I have a question. I work in a LTC facility and we are treating a cellulitis wound with Xeroform and Kling as prescribed by her wound care Dr. There is a big discussion on the proper application of the Xeroform. One side of the discussion is that it can be applied to the entire area of the wound including the good skin surrounding the wound without any problems to the good skin. And the other side of the discussion is that it should not be applied to good skin because it traps moisture on the good skin making it "mushy" and susceptible to further breakdown. What are your thoughts or experiences with this type of treatment? Thank you in advance for your help with this. Shawna

I live and work in IA in a LTC facility. Here we are required to take a course on passing meds. I have completed my CNA training and I have also taken the CMA (Certified Medication Aide) course. The law requires that you have both certificates to legally administer medications to patients. I do not agree with anyone passing medications that has not received proper training in this area. Even as a CMA there is alot I do not know about the meds and I am constantly looking up information or talking to my nurses on duty. That is really scary thinking that this is going on. :chair: