Question about 3rd shift?

Yep, very normal. I liked 3rd shift a lot - though, they won't all be sleeping. You'll probably still have plenty of call lights to answer. It is a lot more laid back than the other shifts, though, and it'll be good for you as a new aide to have that extra time to get comfortable caring for residents.

Yes, that's normal. At my facility, there are usually 3 aides on the 11-7 shift. Each aide has about 8 residents to change q2hours. All of the other residents are continent and fairly independent.

I work 2nds now, but at my facility, they are all total care, so each 3rd shift aide has a wing to themselves, which is approximately 20 residents to check and change. So it just depends on your facility. Most regular nursing homes have at least some continent/independent residents.

As far as the getup goes, I used to get up 2 residents at one job, and I had to get up 8 at another. The worst part about it is just the rush at the end of your shift.

Good luck!

Ok, thanks for the replies! I'm planning on trying to get into a nursing program soon, so hopefully this job will be a good fit so I can go to school during the week and not have to worry about running back and forth between school, home and job.

its not what you think, its not easy. 20 patients to yourself, call lights going off, bed alarms going off from people with dementia trying to get up, people up and wandering, talking, being loud (if its on a dementia unit), trying to get everyone changed every 2 hrs, passing linens, passing waters, getting your charting done, then trying to get people up in the morning, washed and toileted.

Yeah, I don't expect it to be easy - especially since I'm totally new to this field. I've always worked in office/desk jobs and have always wanted to go to nursing school. Once both of my kids started school, I decided that now is the time to really get serious about it.

We do have an Alzheimer's unit in our facility and I will have to rotate through the different units for awhile, until I've been trained on everything, so I'm sure some units are more difficult than others. My first night of actual work is tomorrow, so I'll know more then, I guess.

One thing I noticed during orientation and the few times I've been in there since then is that most of the staff and residents all seem happy and not stressed at all, so I think that's a good sign that this facility should be a happier place to work than others I've seen. Guess we'll see...

i thought the same thing about the place i did my clinicals, which is where i work now. beware

I'm normally assigned 20 residents a shift. Some continent, most not. Make sure everyone stays dry, answer call lights throughout the night. Chart, water pass, get-up's.