3rd shift in LTC facility?

Published

Well I passed my test! Now I'm going to look for a job. I am a night owl. Not at all a morning person! For all you 3rd shifters: Do you get much hands on experience with the residents or do you feel more like a maid? I would love to work 3rd but I want experience for nursing school. Perhaps give me an example of your duties. Thanks in advance.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in LTC,HOSPITAL,HOME CARE,TRAVELING.

Depends on the facility and how they schedule things.The LTC/REHAB I worked had different wings.They had 3 floors of LTC ,one wing of vent rehab ( to get them off the vent if possible and pt/ot/st n ready to go home or to another facility),One wing of neuro rehab (cva's ,mva's,etc with the same pt/ot/st n other therapies to go home or to another facility),Plus an alzheimers lock down unit.Very good facility to get experience from .So maybe look for something like that.They even had their own dialysis attached to the building.I hear this facilty has now installed telemetry.At one point they even trained us to take care of LVAD pt's ,very interesting n exciting.Those are the left ventricular assist devices that can be placed in a pt waiting for a heart transplant.So keep looking there is plenty to find if you search hard enough.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in LTC.

Our 3rd duty shift duties include:

Passing incontenence products and supplys (eg. wipes, denture cleaning tablets)

Passing linens for moring cares

Rounds every 2 hour to change and reposition residents

Getting 4 residents up and ready in the am

One thing I really like about 3rd shift is that if there isn't call lights going off, you can usually get some studying done.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

In most situations, the most experience you will be getting will be answering call lights and 2 hour rounds for incontinence during the night. It is the best shift to allow you to be employed while you are in pre nursing and nursing school. If you are lucky, you might be able to get your charge nurse to allow you to do a nursing skill on occasion under her watchful eye. One of my charge nurses let me do a couple of things, but she stipulated that she didn't want me going around blabbing about it b/c technically it was wrong. I was happy that she was interested enough in me as a future nurse to help me in this manner. It helped our working relationship once I got my license and started working there as a licensed nurse.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I'm working evenings right now, but I did work 3rds for a short while and I enjoyed it. I did get more resident interaction than i expected to - a surprising number of people would be up throughout the night, and the more laid-back nature of the night shift allowed me to spend a bit more individual time with those who were up.

I'd also check what the exact hours are when you go in for an interview or even just to apply. I know many places offer different hours...my place of employment offers a 5 p.m. - 5:30 a.m. shift that is great for people who are terrible with mornings, but still want to interact with residents and would rather work 3 12 hour days than more 6 or 8 hour shifts.

I would definitely not recommend trying to do dayshift if you are bad with mornings - my first month, I had to work days and no matter how hard I tried to go to bed early and get enough sleep to perform well, I am a nightowl by nature and it was difficult for me. I think most people will perform better if they work a shift that goes well with their natural internal clocks.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion