Sleeping on the job..acceptable or not?

[travelnurse63]

I have been a nurse for 18 years, a traveling nurse for the past 5 years. I have worked in many states,recently in Florida. My question is when did it become acceptable to SLEEP on the job? I agree that you should be able to sleep on your breaks but come on..3-4 hours a night!

The hospital that I work weekends in Miami the CNA's on 7p-7a shift get vitals @ midnight then sleep until the 4am rush. Most of the staff is asleep just leaving a few nurses on the floor to answer call lights and do all the work.When I do find the CNA to get them up to do their job so I can do mine they get mad...and the other nurses act weird about me waking them up!!It seems to be everywhere..hospitals,private duty,and nursing homes...

Has anyone noticed this trend or is it just me?

[madwife2002, BSN, RN]

HELLO! The CNA took a blanket and slept in front of the nurse's station. This is not "nodding off" she was complaining about, but blatant abuse of the privilege of employment. I know when I have worked 11-7, it was hard to stay awake as I was used to working days. But grabbing a blanket and nodding out when I was on the clock was NEVER an option. Some folks will take advantage of every opportunity to NOT WORK that you give them. This does not excuse negligent behavior.

I beg your pardon there is no need to be rude to me. We are all entitled to our opinion and saying "HELLO" is offensive. Please refrain from rude offesive comments thank you

[Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN]

Die thread die. :angryfire:

[SilentfadesRPA]

Marie you are a riot lol --

instead of dying perhaps this thread should just go to sleep.

Sorry couldnt help it.

Marc

[UM Review RN, ASN, RN]

Yup, time to put this thread ...... to bed.

[Megs7617]

Dorimar, you and the other staff are to blame for not complaining to the proper people, also because you leave your own work to go do hers. This person has nearly killed many patients, she has been stealing time from the employer, she is a disgrace to our profession, and she needs to not only fired but have her license pulled. She's pretty smart, really. She gets paid to sleep while you other idiots do her job and cover for her. Baby, she's laughing all the way to the bank. Could you and your crew come do my work?

I'm talking to you like a Dutch uncle to make a point, not to be mean, Dorimar. You all need to find your courage. You need to let HR know about this nurse. They should be very interested in her grand theft.

who are you to call her an "idiot"?:angryfire

eta: sorry...didnt realize this thread was trying to be "put to sleep" lol

[dragons]

Acceptable?

NEVER- NEVER-NEVER. if u are on your official not paid for break (lunch/dinner-that is okay for 30 minutes)

ONLY FIREMEN & soldiers get paid to SLEEP!!

iF U CAN'T APPROACH YOUR hEAD nURSE, COMPLAIN anonymously-

send a typed letter to the Chief or the Dept, the Administrator of the facility--BELIEVE me, they dont like paying nurses for no work & DONT FORGET to point out that the nurse's neglect could lead to NEGLECT

& MALPRACTICE LAWSUITS...not a pretty thought for administrators to contemplate...

--or, send letters to the Drs of some of the patients.

If u look the other way, you are condoning poor patient care & I am sure u care too much about your patients to tolerate this.

In the interim, keep a private record of the dates & when this nurse was sleeping-put some examples in your letters if necessary.

iF SHE IS TALKED TO & DENIES IT, & the nurse mentions it to other staff -TELL HER u will NOT LIE & risk your license for her or ANYONE!!!!

She is the only person responsible for her actions & as I frequently remind myself-the patients who TRUST US with their care deserve our professionalism & our RESPECT.

[RRTsoontobeRN]

Columbus Ohio Repsiratory Care Board recently sanctioned and removed licensure from Respiratory Therapist reported for sleeping on the job. I imagine the RN Board would follow suit.

When I worked in San Diego, it was accepted that night shifters could sleep during their lunch break so long as they remained in the break room and could be awakened easily in case of need.

We later found that 2 nurses were sleeping because they were impaired (one for drug abuse, one for medical condition). Both were found unfit for duty. God knows how many mistakes were made during their time on the unit. I learned it is better to assume the worst and report things like this to a manager ASAP

[HisTreasure, BSN, RN]

I worked in a facility that encouraged night shifters to leave the unit for an hour to sleep. There was a place for them to go down in the basement. Many people did it. I was the only licensed nurse on the unit, so I didn't feel comfortable going but many nurses from other units did, and would tell their CNAs to come and alert me if there were any problems. I didn't mind. It was an acceptable practice. I was also allowed to bring my laptop and do my homework and surf allnurses during slow periods-which was most of the night. I'm sure there are those who would frown upon that as well...

[madwife2002, BSN, RN]

I am closing this thread until the weekend is over to allow time for it to cool down.

[justjenny]

My point is - staff wouldn't even think of sleeping on the day shift, so why would they do it at nite? I think that if you can't conduct your time to get the needed sleep during the day, you need to find something else to do.

Patients are just as sick and need care at nite so why should part of the staff work their tails off for the ones that want to sleep?

Hmm... let me guess...you probably don't work full time midnights then..??

Our unit works 12 hr shifts and the midnight staff take two one hour breaks (IF their assignment allows for it - some nights are far too busy) and the second break is usually the "sleeping" break. A 'slow' night may even allow for a 1 1/2 hr second break.

This works because the nursing staff work as a team and take turns watching over each others assignments. This is an ICU unit as well and patient safety is NEVER at risk - management is well aware and don't openly acknowledge the practice but certainly do not have a problem with it.

The staff that are sleeping 3+ hours through the night are doing so because they clearly have never been discouraged NOT to....

Jenny