nurse grinch

Grouping care is a very good suggestion. Take care of all comfort needs when doing pm care and/or vitals. Rounding Q 1 hour is required in the hospital where I work. The nurse on the odd hours;the aides on the evens or vise versa. This increases patient safety and decreases call light noise at night. Also, use your sense of smell at night. When you're peeking in a room take a sniff. More often than not that's the first thing that tells you if a patient needs changed without having to disturb them. As far as getting your patient/resident to go back to sleep;if you have a few minutes ( I know, that's not usual.) sit with them and hold their hand and talk for a little while. If they have been awakened and don't remember where they are, this is a comfort. They know that they aren't alone. They'll usually calm down and go back to sleep or rest quietly. Most importantly, if you work in a hospital, you never know when a family member will show up.

Try Looking into University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. They have many hospitals throughout Pittsburgh. They also offer two or three hospital programs for nursing school. I know of two for sure(St. Margaret's(I went there for LPN and RN) and Shadyside). Mercy Hospital may still have a program. They also have a tuition forgiveness program that you may want to take a look at. Good luck to you!