sleeping staff

Disablednurse · Apr 11, 2003

Bess, I was just stating my opinion as I thought this board was for that purpose. I did not mean to get others upset. I have, according to my husband, had a problem with wanting to hold others to the rigid standards that I set for myself. I understand that others have their opinions and I respect this. Just let me have mine. I have always had a problem with expecting others to bend to my standards and my husband has tried to explain to me that this is not always the thing to do.

**SKM-NURSIEPOOH, BSN, RN** · Apr 11, 2003

originally posted by night owl
isn't anyone reading my posts? first of all, it's not happening just on a break, they sleep for 2-3 hours straight...all of them wrapped up in blankets and no one is alert! second of all, i've tried to do something about it. i have written them up to the nm, nothing was done. i've brought it to the attention of the supervisor. she saw it herself and nothing was done. now i'm getting ready to go over some heads to the don to see what he can do. if nothing, then the director of administration. i'm hoping that the don will look into it at least. after that, what else can i do? i didn't want it to go this far, but since no one seems to care, i will take it as far as i have to to get some action. i'm actually thinking they just don't want to deal with it. when the entire staff sleeps, no one is alert to the fact that the residents are being neglected. we have plenty of people who would love to work nights to fill their shoes even if they're just suspended. i wish jacho would make a surprise visit one night...maybe that's what it'll take or at least tell the don either do something about it or he'll leave me with no alternative but to report it to jacho and then management, administration and the sleeping staff will have to face the consequences...maybe their tune will change then. i'm fighting for what is right ... the resident's safety...it's what i believe in.

... the state board of health, sbon, & jacho...you bet your bottom dollar...your facility administrator will have to do something then or else they would be terminated!

cheers!

moe

simao pt · Apr 11, 2003

I disagree with all of you. In my unit, in the night shift, we are three nurses and an "auxiliar" and we often sleep in shifts. If we're lucky we can sleep 2,5 hours (our night shifts last 12,5 hours). I don't see where's the problem in it. Why should everyone be awake if some can be resting relaxed, knowing that their patientes are secured? If a patient needs something (and they ususally do) the one's that are awake take care of it, no matter what it is. When their time to snore ends we just awake them and it's our turn and they solve whatever problems may occur.

However, if it's really serious then we just awake the "sleeping beauties".

We do our job well and we are responsible enough not to sleep if the work doesn't allow us to do so. Many times we hardly have time to write the patients diary. But, on the nights that the work load is easier we just split the night. Usually from 2 am to 6 am.

The doctors also go to sleep. They even have rooms to sleep! We just sleep in chairs!

Face it, many times those two hours make the difference.

P.S.: I completly disagree with everybody sleeping, leaving no one to take care of the patients!

ShelleyERgirl, LPN · Apr 11, 2003

Originally posted by simao pt
I disagree with all of you. In my unit, in the night shift, we are three nurses and an "auxiliar" and we often sleep in shifts. If we're lucky we can sleep 2,5 hours (our night shifts last 12,5 hours). I don't see where's the problem in it. Why should everyone be awake if some can be resting relaxed, knowing that their patientes are secured? If a patient needs something (and they ususally do) the one's that are awake take care of it, no matter what it is. When their time to snore ends we just awake them and it's our turn and they solve whatever problems may occur.
However, if it's really serious then we just awake the "sleeping beauties".
We do our job well and we are responsible enough not to sleep if the work doesn't allow us to do so. Many times we hardly have time to write the patients diary. But, on the nights that the work load is easier we just split the night. Usually from 2 am to 6 am.
The doctors also go to sleep. They even have rooms to sleep! We just sleep in chairs!
Face it, many times those two hours make the difference.

Are you kidding me? I don't know what kind of payment system you have in Portugal, but here we get paid to work, NOT sleep in shifts! "Why should everyone be awake..." Umm, I don't know... maybe it is because it is your job? I have worked 12 hour shifts in both and L and D setting and ER and there is always stuff that can be done on down time. I could personally care less what people do on their own lunch break, like someone here said, go dance a jig in the cafe, but to sleep in rotating two hour shift? Yeah, yeah, time permitting, wtf, give ME a break!
'
P.S.: I completly disagree with everybody sleeping, leaving no one to take care of the patients!

karoline · Apr 11, 2003

I have worked night shift at various times in my career and have been upset with coworkers who sleep at the desk at night. I feel what anyone does on their 30 minute break away from the immediate work area is their business. However, the great majority of facilities pay a differential to night shift employees for the inconvenience of working during the night. Night nurses are paid to work at night. Day and evening shifts cannot fall asleep at the desk or really anywhere else. Everyone is expected to be alert and available. Why is night shift any different? As a patient I would feel very unsafe if I observed the nurses sleeping and find it detrimental to the image of nurses as professionals. I understand that not everyone is cut out to work nights and acclimating to a night schedule is difficult. Many night nurses I have known don't make getting sleep during the day a priority and therefore have difficulty staying awake during the night. My feeling is that if one cannot commit to staying awake, alert and available then they should work a different shift.

Hellllllo Nurse, BSN, RN · Apr 11, 2003

The nurses I've worked w/ who have slept have slept for hours and hours at a time, not just on break, and then awakened to announce that they are hungry and "going on lunch break now."

!!!!

Back when I was an LPN, I worked w/ several RNs who slept 6-7 hrs of every 12 hr shift.

One nurse, "BettY" was asleep as usual, when her pt went into severe distress. This was a hospice unit. The pt was actively dying, but had suddenly sat up, started grabbing at everything, pulling at her throat, etc. O2 sat was 54%.

This pt was on IVP MSO4, as an LPN, I could not give it.

I woke up Betty and told her the pt situation and to come ASAP. I went back to the pt, who had gotten a skin tear by flailing her arms against the side rail, and was trying to get OOB.

I stayed w/ the pt and waited for Betty... and waited and waited...

I stuffed pillows between the pt and siderails to try and protect her from hurting herself further

I went and found Betty outside smoking and drinking fresh coffee that she had just taken time to brew. She said "I need to wake up before I go in there."

I was flabergasted. I lost all respect for this nurse.

I was totally repulsed and disgusted by her behavior.

sixes · Apr 11, 2003

We had several Nurses who slept at night during there breaks. it was allowed for breaks only. I tried it one night. Felt like crap after so I never did it again. 15 mins or 1/2 hour just doesn't do it for me. It never seemed to bother the other nurses but I just didn't feel awake after.

Lucky for me I didn't need much sleep.

Good_Queen_Bess · Apr 11, 2003

Originally posted by Disablednurse
Bess, I was just stating my opinion as I thought this board was for that purpose. I did not mean to get others upset. I have, according to my husband, had a problem with wanting to hold others to the rigid standards that I set for myself. I understand that others have their opinions and I respect this. Just let me have mine. I have always had a problem with expecting others to bend to my standards and my husband has tried to explain to me that this is not always the thing to do.

I am not saying that you don't have a right to your opinion; your opinion is a valuable as everyone elses on here. :kiss Sorry if I sounded otherwise. We all have our bug bears and are passionate about certain things, but I just don't like being labelled as unprofessional just because I aren't superwoman. I love my job, but detest nights as I can't sleep during the day and my body just functions on emergency back-up supply. If I don't have a sleep, I feel like I have a huge hangover for the rest of the night, and by the morning I become almost dysphasic! :lol2:

Gardengal · Apr 12, 2003

Originally posted by night owl
Isn't anyone reading my posts? First of all, it's not happening just on a break, they sleep for 2-3 hours straight...all of them wrapped up in blankets and NO ONE is alert! Second of all, I've tried to do something about it. I have written them up to the NM, nothing was done. I've brought it to the attention of the supervisor. She saw it herself and nothing was done. Now I'm getting ready to go over some heads to the DON to see what he can do. If nothing, then the Director of Administration. I'm hoping that the DON will look into it at least. After that, what else can I do? I didn't want it to go this far, but since no one seems to care, I will take it as far as I have to to get some action. I'm actually thinking they just don't want to deal with it. When the entire staff sleeps, no one is alert to the fact that the residents are being neglected. We have plenty of people who would love to work nights to fill their shoes even if they're just suspended. I wish JACHO would make a suprise visit one night...maybe that's what it'll take or at least tell the DON either do something about it or he'll leave me with no alternative but to report it to JACHO and then management, administration and the sleeping staff will have to face the consequences...Maybe their tune will change then. I'm fighting for what is right ... the resident's safety...it's what I believe in.

Night Owl:

I agree with you with the exception of the JCAHO surprise visit. I sure wouldn't want the fall out institutionally for that. I'd deal with it internally and if inefective quit this unsafe situation...then report to the state after telling them I was doing so. I quit a management job because of my inability to make a discipline stick for sleeping on the job and poor care by an employee. (Not supported by human resources because how could I prove that the nurse was sleeping at the nurses station?-I had a written complaint of a coworker,(but only 1 of 5-no one else would document for fear of repercussions) vitals documented in the medical record which did not correlate with the bedside monitor in the ICU for the time frame , the employee when confronted who said that 'might have dozed off for a minute', and a patient who had a femoral IV line discovered by another nurse lying in the bed, blood dripping to the floor and the site already clotted. The other nurse entered the room because an IV pump was beeping. I couldn't see a question. The patient died a few hours later. I can't say it was directly related to the event, but it sure was contributory-exanguination is never really healthy. The RN in question had returned from a sleep break of at least 1 hour less than an hour previously according to the coworker.

NO ONE should sleep while on the job. Lives depend on it.

I do agree though that when on break anyone can nap(out of sight in the break room), as long as they wake themselves up and report back to work on time. It should not be a coworker's responsibility to come find you if you oversleep. That is taking them out of care giving while getting you. If you work with a staff who routinely naps on break everyone can quickly get acclimated to needing to wake up the previous co-worker. This is only OK if someone else is getting report from you as you leave to go on break, and a different person is giving report to the person coming back from break-otherwise you can have too many people gone at the same time and emergencies always happen when least expected.

Having lived thorugh this, as an unsupported manager I agree with you wholeheartedly. Employee handbook says no sleeping or immediate dismissal. I have found that this is difficult because of permissive human resource practices which don't match policy and takes successive occurrences and much documentation to enforce. There is always a fear by an institution that things will be overturned because everyone is not following the same rule the same way. Vicious circle.

Good_Queen_Bess · Apr 21, 2003

My last word on this - HONEST :lol2:

The thing I have a problem with, is that policies about night shifts and people sleeping are often written by people who are earning a hell of a lot more money than me for less hours and whom have never worked nights. (As with most policy makers!)

graysonret · Apr 21, 2003

Being an agency nurse, I am not allowed to sleep at all over a night shift. The agencies make it well known that sleeping is cause for termination. I agree. If I work 11-7, I need to stay awake and provide the proper care for the patients, if needed. I've seen a lot of nurses snooze as well as aides. If I'm sleepy, a good walkaround helps...even some night air for a couple of minutes does well. If I find myself constantly struggling overnight, it's time to consider a different shift.

ChainedChaosRN · Apr 21, 2003

The thing about policies is that they usually develop to "assist" the employee in understanding what is right and wrong at a job situation, because people sometimes leave the common sense factor at home.

This is a true story about a storage bin I rented when I first moved to Detroit and the owner handed me the policy sheet. Some of the policies:

You may not live in your storage bin.

You may not keep animals in your SB.

You may not store dead bodies in your SB.

You may not keep dead fish in your SB.

The list went on and on I started laughing....and she said well, the list just keeps growing because some people just don't quite get it. She actually encounted these things!

I agree policies can be stupid..but sleeping ON THE JOB is not right. Punched off the clock...sleeping off the unit....happy dreams to ya.