sparkydmb

I ALWAYS turn my phone off during the day when I am asleep. Also a good sleeping mask and ear plugs are mandatory. This mask (Amazon.com: Dream Essentials Sweet Dreams Contoured Sleep Mask with Earplugs and Carry Pouch, Black: Health & Personal Care) works really well, except I have had mine about 3 months and it is falling apart, granted my dog did get a hold of it. After my last shift, i always try to take a nap for about 4 hours and then wake up but since you are getting off at 11 am, that might not be the best idea. I'd just try to stay awake and go to sleep early that night. I usually drink a coffee at the start of my shift and then one mid shift and this keeps me awake through the night.

I was in a similar situation as you are when I graduated with my BSN in 2009. New grad jobs were scarce being that it was winter and most hospital jobs required new grads to do new grad programs. So I took a job at a LTC facility because that was all I could find. I think I got maybe 1 week orientation before being by myself, which was kind of scary. But generally speaking, you aren't going to be in situations where you won't really know what to do. At the place I worked at there were 3 other nurses as well, so you could always go get one of the more experienced nurses to help if there really is a situation you can't handle. Most of the time I passed meds. I'd say at least 6 our of 8 hours was spent passing meds. This was good because I was able to learn lots and lots of different medications, as most of the people in the facility were on 10-15 meds easily. This job was also good because I really learned how to manage my time and also delegation. Luckily I only had to do LTC for about 4 months before getting into a new grad program at one of the hospitals. The main thing I disliked about LTC was the poor staffing. You might have 2 CNAs for 30 residents that are more or less dependent, at least for toileting/bathing. Just try to stay positive, learn as much as you can while you are there, and keep looking for jobs in acute care. Seeing as it is almost the end of the school year most hospitals will start posting their new grad residencies soon.