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?

[dorimar, BSN, RN]

not true about the sleeping aides. Most nurses i work with are night shifters by chioice and for years. if you really can't get rest without them, and need to sleep at work on a regular basis, i honestly believe you have to leave the night shift despite what you think is holidng you there(money, peers, desired experience, whatever).

[dorimar, BSN, RN]

rankly, I think anyone who cares what another nurse does on her break is just being a busybody.

[dorimar, BSN, RN]

Dorimar, you and the other staff are to blame ..... She gets paid to sleep while you other idiots do her job and cover for her.

[sanctuary, BSN, MSN, RN]

not true about the sleeping aides. Most nurses i work with are night shifters by chioice and for years. if you really can't get rest without them, and need to sleep at work on a regular basis, i honestly believe you have to leave the night shift despite what you think is holidng you there(money, peers, desired experience, whatever).

NOC Nurse here, not by choice, but by hospital dictate. Not all of us choose to be sleep-deprived, semi-alert, and punch drunk 'cause the money is so much better, or our friends all work this shift. I am a borderline insomniac at the best of times, and am being forced to work this shift (if I want to keep my job). I have tried sleep aids (aides with an "e" refers to people in a helping position), and don't like the long term grogginess. Many of my co-workers stop on the way home for a highball, and say it helps them sleep. While I have strong personal feelings about sleeping on duty, there are places in the hospital that have made it a part of the night-shift culture. Like it? No. But I can't be everywhere at once, and have let people know that I do not tolerate sleeping on duty. However, there are people who nap on their break, and I feel that I am not able to discipline them. Legally, it is their time. It would be lovely to believe that adjusting to NOC shift is a matter of will-power, but it can be nigh on to impossible. If people do not abuse it, and only use their break time, then there is little that can be done. If otherwise, then they can, and should, be fired.

[dorimar, BSN, RN]

I sense disdain usually reserved for nursing supervisors and child molestors.

. (because i disagree with you?)

This is who is insulting me(and quotes mentioned above since you asked moderator).

Just because we have a difference of opinion, is no reason to throw insults. I do have a disdain for those who sleep on the job while others are picking up teier slack, but it is wrong to compare my feelings to those I might have towards a child molestor, and surley you know it. That is not a rational argument, but an insult.

[catlady, BSN, RN]

. (because i disagree with you?)

This is who is insulting me(and quotes mentioned above since you asked moderator).

Just because we have a difference of opinion, is no reason to throw insults. I do have a disdain for those who sleep on the job while others are picking up teier slack, but it is wrong to compare my feelings to those I might have towards a child molestor, and surley you know it. That is not a rational argument, but an insult.

Huh? I wasn't even referring to you. I didn't recall what you wrote. You're not that special. I would have to go back and read what you've written. I was referring to the overall tone of this thread, and of similar threads and similar arguments I've heard from people over the years on the same subject. And if you don't recognize joking, I can't help you. When I insult someone, there's no doubt in anyone's mind.

Get a little thicker skin, and try for a few seconds to take yourself less seriously. I was one of the first people to defend you when someone else called you an idiot, but what the heck. It appears I was incorrect.

If I bother you, put me on ignore. At least until puberty kicks in. You're on my list as of now.

[madwife2002, BSN, RN]

Lets just keep it civil please you guys

[dorimar, BSN, RN]

Ya think? This has been a valuable site for me to learn the latest trends, share support with others, offer my experiences, use the experiences of others to help me in my professional growth, keep up on evidenced based practice, vent, etc. However, when i do all of these things i don't include insulting, nasty, harsh comments. It is ok to disagree and discuss and debate rationally. That is what this site is for. I am saddened that anywhere there is a difference of opinion, toxic comments often seem to fly. It really puts a dark mark on this forum and takes so much away from what it could be.

I did not think i was special, nor did I mean to imply that. The moderator asked who was insulting me. Your busybody comment was aimed at all those who disagreed with your point. I will refrain from futher discussion on this thread.

[angeRN6297, RN]

Not!!! We do not have this problem where I work with nurses or aides but we have had the sitters fall asleep while the patient they are supposed to be sitting with is pulling out an IV or foley!!! I do rounds hourly myself just to keep an eye on my patients.... even if it is just to peak in at them and make sure they are sleeping.

[NaomieRN]

I would bring up the issue to the supervisor because that is a major issue. What if something happens to a patient? Aren't nurses suppose to be patient advocate? Sleeping on any job is an immediate dismisal, especially when taking care of patients. They are getting paid to work, not sleep for 4 hours. I used to do CNA overnight and never saw anyone sleeps. During orientation, we were told if anyone would be caught sleeping we would be terminated immediately. I will bring up the issue.

[SharkLPN]

Not!!! We do not have this problem where I work with nurses or aides but we have had the sitters fall asleep while the patient they are supposed to be sitting with is pulling out an IV or foley!!! I do rounds hourly myself just to keep an eye on my patients.... even if it is just to peak in at them and make sure they are sleeping.

It can be rough to sit at night though. I did occasionally while working as an aide in nursing school (we use our own CNAs for sitters if one is needed). Some of our patients requiring a sitter will calm down and fall asleep for awhile, sometimes the whole night, are not busy fussing with their lines, and that's when you'll have the most trouble staying awake. Add being 'alone' with no one to talk to in a darkened room, no TV and really crappy magazines to read (or dry nursing textbooks) and it's no wonder some of our aides can't stay up. I usually relieve them for a few minutes each hour so they can stretch their legs, get some fresh air and coffee, and interact with someone.

Now if the patient is awake, active and fussy all night, then falling asleep is a problem!

[Jo Dirt]

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.

Yea, I sense the same thing, too. It's funny how people tend to put everyone else on such a tight moral budget but leave plenty of allowance for themselves. It's just human nature, I guess. The average person thinks they are better than the average person. This is precisely why I will not work the night shift. We hear so many complaints about night shift but many of the ones complaining the loudest refuse to work it. I worked the night shift for a year and a half and I lived that year and a half in a fog of tiredness and irritability, not to mention how it totally messes up just about every aspect of your life. And I slept most of the day after coming home. It's a slow death and a living hell and not worth the crummy "shift differential" (and most places I know of don't even offer it, anyway, I didn't get a penny more for the night shift).

Ideally, night workers could sleep in "shifts" with one holding down the fort while the others rest. If it wouldn't be abused, I think this set up could work great. As for the people whining about getting paid to sleep on the job, come on, that's bull. Personally, I could not sleep while at work, because if I'm not in my bed with my pillows a certain way and my ceiling fan on and with it totally quiet I cannot fall asleep. I did, however, catch myself falling alseep on the drive home and hallucinating from exhaustion. But I guess that is because I'm not responsible enough to be able to get my hours adjusted from what is natural to what is unnatural (refer back to the first few sentences of my post...)