Sleeping on the job..acceptable or not?

Nurses General Nursing

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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?

I think Dorimar showed that she did go to the right people and up the chain of command. She did speak out and it earned her nothing but problems so she chose to leave as she couldn't deal with it anymore.

She has stated they want her back, and they should be wooing her. They should make it worth her while.

I feel G is being unduly critical in light of the full story.

No offense to G, but who else should she have gone to, and how long should she have stayed when they were treating her like cr*p?

I love it when nurses speak out and hate it when they just take it or just move on without fighting, but it seems like Dorimar did everything you could hope for, and did it in a civil and appropriate manner.

She apparently needed to go to the Director. Maybe to the Chief of Medical Staff, too.

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Specializes in oncology.

duh?
:uhoh3:
:uhoh3:sleeping while in duty?' think its a no-no..
:nono:
.better go home and sleep rather than neglect your work....

total agreement, sleeping on the job day or night is entirely unacceptable in nursing. If you can't hang on the night shift, then work the day shift.:angryfire

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total agreement, sleeping on the job day or night is entirely unacceptable in nursing. If you can't hang on the night shift, then work the day shift.:angryfire

Welllll.......that's a great idea, but since practically EVERY nurse wants to work the day shift, that leaves the night for those of us who are new (or crazy ;) ). I don't think I'll be able to hack it on nights, (I will probably not do too well with the not sleeping thing), but I have no choice. Where I will probably work doesn't have any day shifts available. I'll hold out until I can switch to days. :o

Interesting concept, allowing napping like the UK does, according to one poster. (And, really, I think it's pretty ridiculous to draw labs at all hours of the day and night unless someone is at death's door because it is not good for the poor patients who are sleep deprived, but that's another thread). Residents get to sleep some...though they are on for 36 hours or more at a time. Hmmm....I guess I'm not totally convinced that it's always a bad thing, at least for a quick 30 minute nap where the coworkers are aware of what you are doing and where you are, as long as you can wake up and do the job effectively. Hours at a time is not such a good idea, though.

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.
If you can't hang on the night shift, then work the day shift

Yeah, simple as that, huh.

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.
She apparently needed to go to the Director. Maybe to the Chief of Medical Staff, too.

Well we can analyze the past all we want, however, it's not going to change how things used to be.

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.

I did check on our hospital's policy, just in case something had changed, but sleeping on the job is automatic termination.

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I did check on our hospital's policy, just in case something had changed, but sleeping on the job is automatic termination.

Does this include unpaid break time?

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Specializes in RN, BSN, CHDN.

What I dont understand is we all complain of how badly we are treated as nurses but we dont think there is a problem with having unpaid breaks and being told NO NAPPING, on your own time..

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What I dont understand is we all complain of how badly we are treated as nurses but we dont think there is a problem with having unpaid breaks and being told NO NAPPING, on your own time..

:lol2: We're our own worst enemies sometimes... Honestly, I wouldn't work in a place that tells me what I can do on MY time (I wouldn't want to work with coworkers who thought it was their place to do that either).

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.
Does this include unpaid break time?

Have no idea.

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Specializes in ER, ICU, Infusion, peds, informatics.

i can't figure out how they can keep you from taking a nap during your break.

my understanding is that if there are any restrictions on what you can do during your break, then they have to pay you.

when i was in nursing school, i worked as a companion/sitter for an elderly lady. i wasn't allowed to leave for my break, so i got paid for it.

out of curiosity, for those of you who are against sleeping on an unpaid break because the nurse may not be available in case of an emergency: is it ok for a nurse to clock out and run to pick up food? that happens all the time where i work (though usually it is an aide or secretary that goes for food, sometimes it is a licensed nurse), and is perfectly ok with management as long as the person clocks out first in case they don't come back in time. would clocking out first make napping for 30 min more acceptable, since the person would have to wake up in time to clock back in?

personally, i have never been able to nap at work (though i have tried ) even when i've gotten to work early enough to take a short nap before starting (i live far away and have a long drive), i haven't been able to sleep. however, i have taken power naps at home for about 15-20 min in the afternoon, and know how much that short amount of sleep can recharge me.

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Interesting how the anti-nappers seem to suggest that someone who might need a little help forcing their body into an activity it finds truly unnatural, has some kind of deviant character flaw. I sense disdain usually reserved for nursing supervisors and child molestors. :bugeyes:

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