Tips for working night shift as a new lpn.

belgarion · Feb 12, 2011

I work 7P-7A for family reasons as well. My advice is you have to develop a little bit of a selfish streak. Your sleep time is your sleep time. Yes, there will be exceptions to the rule but for the most part it has to be understood that you are not to be disturbed while you are sleeping. Otherwise you will become so crabby and out of sorts your family time will become meaningless.

Remember, night workers are the exception rather than the rule. The rest of the world runs on "normal" time and it couldn't care less about whether or not we get one hour or eight hours sleep a day. Phones ring and even your friends and family will say "oh, were you asleep"? You can put a "Day Sleeper" sign on your front door in a 144 font and sales people and others will suddenly forget how to read.

I really enjoy nights. You don't have all the bosses around and things are generally more relaxed. I think there is more comradrie on the night shift. Spending time with your family is a good reason to do nights but if you don't make time for YOU, you and your family will both be miserable.

SquishyRN, BSN, RN · Feb 12, 2011

I'll pass on the wisdom others have passed onto me recently concerning the same question since I'll be starting my first full-time LTC job during 11-7 shift this week. I orient on Monday :yeah: . I'm looking forward to reading what others say about this too.

If you're as green to nursing as I am, definitely don't fall into the trap of following your charge nurse around during your orientation. I made that mistake when I got oriented (all 2 days of it :uhoh3: ) for my per diem job and felt like I knew nothing whenever things came up. Thank god I worked 7-3 and 3-11 shifts because there were still people around to ask. For my new 11-7 job, there will be no one else there except the charge nurse (me) and 4 CNAs.

During orientation, focus on learning all the PAPERWORK, especially since there will be no one to ask when you're actually working. Falls would be your biggest concern at LTC for night shift because of those who try to get out of bed due to confusion. Even for my 3-11 shifts I had people getting out of bed b/c they thought it was morning. Make it your priority to know the policies, procedures, and paperwork for falls... Or everything actually. For my facility, dialysis patients usually get taken at 4 or 5 in the morning so they can be back before lunch, so for me, knowing the paperwork for transferring them would be a priority to know. So definitely know what you'll most likely be responsible for during your shift and all the related policies, procedures, and paperwork.

When you start working, start feeling out the personalities of your CNAs early. You'll definitely be relying on them heavily while you familiarize yourself with the residents and the facility b/c they know the residents better than you do. People are different no matter what their job, so you have to get a feel right away whose gonna try and take advantage of your newbie status and whose gonna be really supportive. Of all things my sister, who's been in LTC for 20 yrs and is the DON of a different facility, keeps trying to knock into my head, it's that just b/c I'm new doesn't mean it isn't my job to keep everyone in line. For those that take advantage, but you don't want to be "mean," just remember it's YOUR license on the line!! Make sure everyone is doing rounds frequently and not sleeping on the job. Don't be arrogant, but don't be a doormat either, be assertive.

That's all I can remember for now, but I'm definitely looking forward to hear more from others :nurse:

jmitchell-85 · Feb 12, 2011

Thanks alot this is very helpful...ive been so caught up in worrying about taking my boards and getting this new job at the same time i havnt even thought of all the details. I have to wait to get my letter to test to start orientation, but as long as everything goes well with that I think i have the job. I havnt even thought about the aspect of having to be.in charge of CNA's or how I would react to them not doing there job properly...oh well one more thing to add to my list of things to do.....be assertive. Thanks so much and please share any and all information you have with me, its very much appreciated.

TygRNoef · Feb 14, 2011

I work 11-7 in a LTC, and the shift is great. I can do things with my family whenever I like, and sleep at the remaining times. I had to adjust to a crazy sleep schedule when I first started, but now it's easy for me to sleep whenever I lay my head down and spend time with my family the rest of the time, however, many of the people I work with have never adjusted.

jmitchell-85 · Feb 14, 2011

I really hope this is how it will be for me as well. Are there any tips you could give me on how to adjust or keep myself on a good rhythm....thanks for all of the advice

TygRNoef · Feb 16, 2011

At first I had to take a sleep aid to be able to sleep during the day at all, and I drank a lot of coffee to stay awake through the night. After a few weeks, I stopped being able to sleep at night on my off nights.

*SJ* · Feb 18, 2011

During orientation, focus on learning all the PAPERWORK, especially since there will be no one to ask when you're actually working. Falls would be your biggest concern at LTC for night shift because of those who try to get out of bed due to confusion. Even for my 3-11 shifts I had people getting out of bed b/c they thought it was morning. Make it your priority to know the policies, procedures, and paperwork for falls... Or everything actually. For my facility, dialysis patients usually get taken at 4 or 5 in the morning so they can be back before lunch, so for me, knowing the paperwork for transferring them would be a priority to know. So definitely know what you'll most likely be responsible for during your shift and all the related policies, procedures, and paperwork.
When you start working, start feeling out the personalities of your CNAs early. You'll definitely be relying on them heavily while you familiarize yourself with the residents and the facility b/c they know the residents better than you do. People are different no matter what their job, so you have to get a feel right away whose gonna try and take advantage of your newbie status and whose gonna be really supportive. Of all things my sister, who's been in LTC for 20 yrs and is the DON of a different facility, keeps trying to knock into my head, it's that just b/c I'm new doesn't mean it isn't my job to keep everyone in line. For those that take advantage, but you don't want to be "mean," just remember it's YOUR license on the line!! Make sure everyone is doing rounds frequently and not sleeping on the job. Don't be arrogant, but don't be a doormat either, be assertive.
That's all I can remember for now, but I'm definitely looking forward to hear more from others

Very good info! I have been working nights in an ALF for a few months. It works well for me to be able to spend time with friends and family during the day. I'm also in school and love the flexibility night shift gives me for that. Sometimes I have down-time at work and am able to study. I take Ambien on occasion if I am having trouble getting to sleep during the day. Get some black-out curtains and a sleep mask.

Definitely make sure you learn the paperwork and policies for your facility. That seems to be the most challenging for me, too. Supervising the CNAs can be...difficult. They are used to a lot of autonomy at night and I love that about them but it can make implementing something new in their routine challenging. They want to do it the way they have always done it and don't want to listen to the new girl.

Good luck!

LUV ALZ · Feb 20, 2011

I have worked Nocs for more than 10 yrs. The hardest part for me was training family and friends to respect my sleep time. I finally got mad when one friend would always call me at 10:00 a.m. and say "your still sleeping"? Well DUH I went to bed at 7 a.m.. So to teach her what is was like I spent a whole week calling her ALL night long. "But why are you mad, you went to bed at 9:30 p.m." "what are you doing in bed? It's 4 a.m., Geez all you do is sleep! It worked she said she was never so tired in her life. I told her welcome to my world. My dad seemed to think five hours a day was fine for sleep. I asked him to sleep from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. for a week and let me know how he feels. He did and felt like crud. What people don't understand is not only the amount of sleep that a person gets it also counts when you get it. The human body is designed to sleep at night. Make sure people understand that when it is your sleep time you need to sleep period. As for figuring out how your shift works, they know you are new and should make sure they train you right. If not feel free to call the DON all night long, that's her job!

Anne36, LPN · Feb 21, 2011

How many hours do most of you sleep per day who work the night shift?

belgarion · Feb 22, 2011

How many hours do most of you sleep per day who work the night shift?

Depends. If I have to go back to work that night I try for at least 6 or 7. If I'm off that night it could be anywhere from 2 to 10 depending on how many things I have to catch up on.

OgopogoLPN, LPN, RN · Feb 22, 2011

If you do take the night shift...

Drink very little liquid from about 2am onwards. My biggest problem when trying to sleep is having to go pee at about 10am. No matter how many times I peed before going to sleep. Your body is used to voiding multiple times from 7am to 11pm. It's used to holding it from 11pm to 7am.

Even if your house will be empty, wear earplugs and make sure your room is DARK. Wearing earplugs saved my life to sleep better during the day.

Use a sleep aid if you need one. You need enough sleep to function with the rest of your life.

Congrats on your position and best of luck!

:nurse: