Sleeping on the job..acceptable or not?

fergus51 · Jul 20, 2006

rankly, I think anyone who cares what another nurse does on her break is just being a busybody.
Why a quote but no response? I stand by the quote though. What a nurse does on her breaktime is her business. This isn't meant as an insult to you. Do you really care what I do on my breaktime? (no, I am not talking about what I do at the nursing station or in the patients' rooms or for hours at a time on night shift, I am talking about the 30 minutes each night that are mine).
I don't think this is anymore an insult that calling a napper unprofessional. I really didn't think it was such a huge deal or so offensive, but I'm sorry if you took it as such.

Pepper The Cat, BSN, RN · Jul 21, 2006

).
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.

This is how we do it where I work. While some one goes on break, the rest cover the floor. That person can do what they want, if they want to sleep, fine. If they just want to read their book or knit, fine. At the end of their break, the next person knocks on the door and gives them a few minutes to come out. Then the next person goes on their break. It is understood that if an emergency should happen, the person on break is notified and they get up ASAP. It works well. The patients are looked after, and we get a break. As for meal breaks, as someone posted earlier - there is no where to go for a meal break so we stay on the floor no matter what. I say, if you need a nap to function, take it. No one objects if the day nurses go to the cafe for lunch and are off the floor for 45 minutes, so what is the difference?

jannrn · Jul 21, 2006

Why a quote but no response? I stand by the quote though. What a nurse does on her breaktime is her business. This isn't meant as an insult to you. Do you really care what I do on my breaktime? (no, I am not talking about what I do at the nursing station or in the patients' rooms or for hours at a time on night shift, I am talking about the 30 minutes each night that are mine)
I agree with what I do is my own business on my break, as long as my co-worker, or charge nurse knows how to contact me in an emergency (what room I am taking my break in) and I am responsible to take precautions that if I am asleep, I have an alarm set to end my break at a responsible time.
Many companies are taking notice that employees have better moarale and are more productive if allowed (even encouraged!) to have nap/rest breaks during work hours. my husbands company even has special quiet rooms with cots! of course they also have 2 fitenss centers with all the latest yoga/pilates/spinning/kick boxing, personal trainers, sand volleyball, running route maps, swiming pool with classes, climbing wall.... shall I go on? and this company is quite successful despite encouraging this type of behaviour!! (many thousands apply to this company, I don't think they have a problem with hiring)

cariad · Jul 21, 2006

i am a night shift worker and dont sleep on my breaks, but thats not to say that i am that self opinionated on what my co-workers do on theirs. some people dont have the perfect lifestyle where they can sleep all day between their shifts, and it goes against their biological clocks anyway. it makes for safer patient care to let some nurse who needs a nap for 30 minutes take it than force them to stay awake.

anyway, i dont get paid for my break and what i do in my own time is up to me. the day that they pay me for it is the day that they can tell me what to do in it.

graysonret · Jul 21, 2006

I've been a nurse for 19 years now, doing mostly agency work. It's not unusual to work nights and see nurses/CNAs sound asleep at 2am. My agency has 1 rule regarding that...if you're found asleep, you're fired. To me, it's a form of "patient abandonment" and totally unacceptable. Not too long ago, at an assisted living home here, police responded to a 911 call from a patient who couldn't get any help from the staff. Seems the healthcare workers were all sound asleep. I guess they all are looking for new careers, after serving the 6 months in jail, that the judge gave them. :)

jmsrn · Jul 21, 2006

In my jobs we have always been told that sleeping on the job was grounds for immediate dismissal. If a staff member can't make it through the shift without sleeping then maybe night shift is not the shift for them to be working. If it was a new behavior then maybe someone needs to talk to them and find out if something is going on in their lives to prevent them from working and maybe needs to take a leave of absent until they can get their problems worked out,

georgeswife · Jul 21, 2006

I work in a nursing home on the night shift as supervisor. I can count the times on 1 hand that I have fallen asleep when I first started. I tell my patients that I am not asleep if they need something. And I will report people that sleep. It is unacceptable

achot chavi · Jul 21, 2006

When I worked nights (especially hot summer nights) we couldn't use the units air conditioner (adm felt it was just for the hot afternoon and programed it so even if we tried we could not put it on). After rounds (T & P, diaper changing, wound care etc) I would be very hot and I would "chance" it by taking a 5 minute shower in the staff bathroom ( took turns with my CNA who stood alert to answer any pt. needs) . I was concerned that something shouldn't happen when I was otherwise occupied but the refreshing cool water really helped us stay alert after the tiring rounds. Would you guys consider this a NONO?:trout:

BTW, I've had patients from other units come to me looking for an awake and alert nurse to give them a Tylenol or Ibuprofin because they didn't have the heart to wake up the poor sweet sleeping dear in charge of their unit!!!

Of couse I refused as I couldn't give even a Tylenol to a patient who was not mine (I didn't know if they were allergic, previously medicated etc.) I sent them back with instructions to wake up their nurse or I will. I got cursed at for being heartless and warned not to wake up the sleeping darling. Dioes that not beat all? :uhoh3:

figment · Jul 21, 2006

No way. That's the purpose of the night shift, they are supposed to sleep during the day. They should not work the night shift if they can't handle it...they aren't paid to sleep. That's unsafe for patient care. Glad to hear you do your job, but you shouldn't have to be responsible for doing the others'.

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 · Jul 21, 2006

I work in a nursing home on the night shift as supervisor. I can count the times on 1 hand that I have fallen asleep when I first started. I tell my patients that I am not asleep if they need something. And I will report people that sleep. It is unacceptable

Thank god I dont work for you then. I just find this quick dismissal of people with I would report them horrendous. I was a ward manager and I sometimes worked the night shift when we were short of staff and if anybody fell asleep I would just give them a nudge and find them something to do, because is it is hard for some people to stay awake when it's 4-5am and it is quiet. They could sleep on their break if they liked. What is the big deal. I am perfectly capable of starting a code and organising the staff who are left on the floor, After all realistically you only need two people, for safe bls.

madwife2002, BSN, RN · Jul 21, 2006

No way. That's the purpose of the night shift, they are supposed to sleep during the day. They should not work the night shift if they can't handle it...they aren't paid to sleep. That's unsafe for patient care. Glad to hear you do your job, but you shouldn't have to be responsible for doing the others'.

What shift do you work?

katapn · Jul 21, 2006

"Complaining for years" and making formal statments in writing are two different things. Put the complaint in writing, request a formal investigation, and run it up the chain of command. (chg nurse, nurse mgr, DON, HR, CEO etc.) If it is still ignored.... there is strength in numbers, maybe petitions would help. There are other ways to pursue this as well but one has to decide just how far they are willing to go. (involving the media, state licensure, accrediting agencies, hopefully would not be necessary) Definitely an uphill climb but if we sit back and accept this, the deterioration continues.