Sleeping nurses

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I guess I’m old school. I was taught by my parents that you don’t sleep on the job. I work night shift. I’m an older nurse but even when I was younger and worked nights I never slept on the job. I was always taught that is stealing time from the company. Where I work there is one nurse that sleeps all of the time and she is not told anything. There are CAs that sleep and the charge nurse doesn’t tell them anything either. I’ve brought it to my boss and nothing gets done. Where else do I go from here? No one on my unit seems to care.

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Specializes in Adult Primary Care.

It sounds like this is the culture of the unit and you probably won't change anything. You will most likely have to find a way to deal with it or move on.

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Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
23 hours ago, AnnieNP said:

It sounds like this is the culture of the unit and you probably won't change anything. You will most likely have to find a way to deal with it or move on.

Agreed. Unless you want to turn them into enemies may be best to MYOB. It's not right, but you alone are not changing the culture of a unit.

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I have heard 'the culture of the unit' so much lately and it's true.

I have no idea how someone could come to work to take care of sick people and fall asleep. I couldn't even sleep when my kids were sick and little. It boggles the mind. I think they either simply do no care or maybe they have narcolepsy, who knows? I just know that some people can do it. And if the management puts up with it, there's not a thing you can do. So bizarre!

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Take care of your patients and all is well.

Look at it this way: If the boss is aware they sleep on the job and has allowed the issue to continue, then the boss has said they may sleep on the job. ??‍♀️

If there is a problem with the environment of care, then look for a place where more people are interested in taking good care of patients.

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
On 4/9/2019 at 2:12 AM, kjnsweets said:

I guess I’m old school. I was taught by my parents that you don’t sleep on the job. I work night shift. I’m an older nurse but even when I was younger and worked nights I never slept on the job. I was always taught that is stealing time from the company. Where I work there is one nurse that sleeps all of the time and she is not told anything. There are CAs that sleep and the charge nurse doesn’t tell them anything either. I’ve brought it to my boss and nothing gets done. Where else do I go from here? No one on my unit seems to care.

If you're in charge or supervising any of these slumberers, write them up. Sleeping on the job is a fireable offense in most institutions. Don't photograph them -- that can get you into trouble. Just document. "On April 13 at 2:09 AM, I observed Mary Poppins, RN wrapped up in a patient blanket and sleeping on a recliner. I attempted to gain Ms. Poppins' attention by speaking to her, but she did not respond. I then gently shook her shoulder, and she startled awake and stated, "Why did you wake me up? I was having a good dream!"

I worked with a nurse who could drop off instantly with alarms going off right over her head and once, with a code in progress across the room. A brand new charge nurse thought it would be a good idea to photograph her and post the photo on FaceBook. He was suspended and lost his tuition reimbursement halfway through his MSN program. We all heard about HIS discipline because he complained about it to everyone who would listen. We don't know what consequences Mary faced, because she never talked about it. Disciplinary matters are confidential. It turns out that Mary had undiagnosed and untreated sleep apnea. She had a sleep study and was put on CPAP and never again had a problem staying awake at work.

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Specializes in Clinical Leadership, Staff Development, Education.

I have actually had this experience and it is very frustrating. I think you have appropriately communicated. I will share my thoughts... take what helps... leave what doesn't.

  • If the individual is sleeping and a patient issue needs to be addressed- continue to notify charge nurse. Depending on situation- wake the individual up and inform of patient issue/need that needs to be addressed.
  • If charge nurse does not address, continue to inform your manager/director of specific incident and how patient care was directly affected. (i.e. prn meds not given, patient fall, patient complaint).
  • You do need to advocate for patients, but also take care of yourself. Don't stay in an unhealthy and/or toxic environment. You deserve to work in a culture of teamwork and quality patient care.
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Specializes in Public Health.

Way back in the early 1980s when I was a new RN, it was somewhat encouraged to take a 30 minute nap when working nights. The cafeteria wasn't open and we were entitled to a 30 minute break. Another nurse would cover my patients for 30 minutes while I rested and I extended the same courtesy to her.

It was such a busy unit that I only got a chance to nap a couple of times. It didn't work for me because I couldn't turn my mind off.

If a nurse is entitled to leave the unit for 30 minutes then I really wouldn't have any investment in knowing if she was eating or napping as long as her patients were being covered during the break period.

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There is a marked difference between taking a nap during one’s authorized break and coming to work in order to sleep for six hours.

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Specializes in tele, ICU, CVICU.

how has nothing ever happened to a patient under this nurses' care? I imagine co-workers are covering? Not you, but others. I also cannot believe your manager has not done a thing. This should be considered abandonment.

I'd say to try HR or somebody further up the line. But then retaliation usually occurs and if two supervisor figures are aware & haven't taken action thus far, sounds like nothing will change until a lawsuit happens.

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I once worked with RN's on a psych ER unit, but was not an RN myself at the time. Long story short, by about 2am or so, the night shift had all of the recliners full, and was not accepting any new clients for the most part. When the clients had to see the doctor in the am, they were rested. At this time, it was not uncommon for an RN to drift off. There were however probably a minimum of 3-5 other persons, (RN's, MHT's, sitters, and security) keeping an eye on the clients.

Some of the RN's were used quite a lot as floaters and were highly skilled and educated.

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