Sleeping at work

....Im assuming that the friendly tone that would make this humorous just didnt come through well in text?

It came across as an attack on night shift charge nurses...then again, as you said, maybe the tone of the message got lost.

...and smile for the masters.

I wish somebody would tell me to feel this way about my employer. I'll smile at you if I have reason to. Haha.

When roused from accidentally nodding off say a quick, "Amen," as if you were just praying.

I'm kidding.

A long time ago when I worked nights we had a great team and sometimes I just needed a 15 minute power nap. I'd tell my secretary I'm going on a break, let me know when 15 minutes were up.

As my allotted time for breaks was a 30 then two 15s, it fell within my time.

Good luck to you, OP.

OMG I know that was a joke but it is an amazing recovery! Not sure if it'll fly in the face of HR but how can anyone fight against a silent prayer?

....Im assuming that the friendly tone that would make this humorous just didnt come through well in text?

It did to me. I don't think anyone here would call another nurse a dummy, but I'll let the member speak for herself. Personally I saw the humor in it. But then again, I'm pretty relaxed and don't take the internet seriously.

It's harsh. I feel like management made an example of you... and that charge nurse didn't care for you much. Sorry.

I think all night nurses have seen someone accidentally fall asleep at work. If I had a nickel for all the times staff went to nap on their break and forgot to set an alarm... well, I wouldn't have to be a nurse. Like Been there said, it's human.

Good luck in your next position.

Pardon my paranoia, but it sounds like the charge nurse (?and others?) had a target on your back. So sorry you were terminated and I hope you find another job that you like just as well, if not better.

I frequently was scheduled with a charge night nurse who always slept away the shift. Later, I learned that the supervisor caught her and fired her on the spot. With this particular nurse, it was the best thing for the unit and patients.

I like the "amen" response...don't you wonder what the charge nurse would have responded to that?? roflmao

i've done this in fact a 1/3rd of us probably have at some point. Grab a couple warm blankets and lay your head on the desk and zone out/sleep for maybe 30mins-1hr. It happens because we are in a locked unit and secondly most of our staff is pretty laid back so no ones ratting you out. It happens when the unit is slow or everyone is vented and its the slow part of the night. Obviously if you are behind on your work or are taking care of someone very unstable then this doesn't happen and shouldn't. I guess our crew will answer each others pumps, hang another propofol for you, or answer a call light. Just depends on the unit dynamics and people you are with. Sorry this happened to you.

You say it was a moment - I can tell you from experience having fallen asleep for a "moment" after work, making dinner, looking after my eight month old, and snuggling with my husband, I close my eyes for a "moment" around 10 and wake up in the morning.

When roused from accidentally nodding off say a quick, "Amen," as if you were just praying.

My dad used to do this when he would be caught falling asleep in church!

I certainly don't want to defend an "oppressive regime", but organizations can get into a huge legal bind if they don't follow the same rules for everyone. So if their rules say that sleeping on the job is cause for termination, they have to do it. If they 'took pity' on OP and went with a lesser punishment, it would open the door to discrimination claims from everyone that they had previously fired for that offense... and they wouldn't have any way to defend themselves. Once you bend a rule, it's pretty much useless.

In everywhere I have ever worked, sleeping at work is cause for termination. In addition, for licensed staff, it has to be reported to the BON because it is effectively, "patient abandonment" since you aren't available to care of patients while you're asleep, it's the same as walking off the job. Very serious stuff with no mercy given. It's a very harsh lesson. I hope OP bounces back quickly with a new job.

Just finished with the meeting with my manager and HR. I was terminated immediately. I have never had any write up or any disciplinary action against me, I agree to work when people bail, and for ten second of sleep by 5.30am when I have round up my shift, I was terminated.

I was asked to write a letter of appeal which I have done, I had no defence but a plea for them to look at my impeccable track record and reinstate me. Is a long short but am really tired . no warning, no suspension just immediate termination.

My only source of income, the only job I have enjoyed doing since after law school has just being taking away in a second.

I have other job interview next week but theybr an hour away from me. I may have to relocate cos where I stay have only two hospital and I want to work in a hospital.

Thank you all for listening, I didn't say anything about my co workers, i just bursted out in tears as they gave me my letter of termination.

Termination does seem harsh if your prior behavior was exemplary. However, I don't see how you can claim you were only asleep for "10 seconds." If you were actually asleep, your assessment of time would by definition be suspect.