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Discussion

Quick question for night-shift nurses

I've got a quick question for the night nurses!

I'm a newly-graduated RN and will be starting a new job soon on a cardiac floor. I am slightly anal retentive about making sure I am laying eyes on my patients at least once every hour, and did so while working as an extern on the cardiac floor.

The night shift will present an issue with being able to see the patient well enough to actually lay eyes on them well enough to do a quick visual assessment with the lights off. I recently saw a sort of LED flashlight that can be worn on the head...sort of like a headlamp.

Would I look like a complete dork if I wore one of those when going in to check on patients at night? Do you use one to check in on your patients, or have you ever seen anyone else use one?

Along the same line, are there any "best practices" you utilize when doing hourly rounding on the night shift since it's often difficult to plainly see your patient?

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    Please don't wear any sort of head lamp...:lol2:

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    I think all the advice you were given so far were great ones. From my experience working nights at facilities, I personally feel the dim lights in the room (nightlights, from the bathroom, from the hallway, etc) are enough. But having your penlight handy would be good in case you really need it.

    Whatever you decide to use, remember not to shine any light directly into a patient's face. They might suddenly wake up or already be awake. And that might not be a pleasant experience for either of you. I learned the hard way! :D

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    I think you SHOULD wear the head lamp. :up:

    :D and please post a picture

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    There should be some kind of low-intensity ambient light, a "night light" if you will, in any patient room. They should never be completely dark, as that would present a falls risk. It should be enough to get what you need done.

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    I work with kids and I mostly do nights, so when I go in to do vitals I take the flash light, turn it on and flip it upside down and prop it up on the bedside table. Its perfect. Not too much light that it will both anyone who is sleeping, but just enough. All the kids have flashlights by their bedside..hope this helps!

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    Yes, please don't wear a headlamp. We have a male LVN who wears these old, faded uniforms and looks unprofessional as it is. Now, he has added a baseball-style cap with a headlamp. He looks like he's ready to go hunting!

    Back to the topic... a penlight or a room nightlight works great for me. But then, I can almost see better in the dark than in the light!

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