Just another day nurse saying how they are SOOO busy and night staff is just relaxing doing nothing. Tired of this stereotype. Night staff busts ass and most patients don't sleep. Working night shift in a hospital is the most under appreciated position you will ever have.
I totally agree, I have hung meds q h on several patients all night, scheduled meds all night, walking, bathing, toileting, dressing changes, all night. No one sleeps. We are chronically understaffed. The only difference is the ratio (6:1vs 5:1) and the atmosphere. Oh, and the lights are dimmer.
Wait a minute! I might be wrong but, I feel as if you're saying that nocs are a piece of cake compared to the day shift. Perhaps my perception of your opinion is incorrect. If so, I apologize. I have worked the night shift for about 75% of my career as a Registered Nurse and you have a very typical "day shift" attitude toward our work at night! From our point of view, it must be VERY VERY NICE to have about 1/4 to 1/2 the patient load we have on nights....and often the staffing disparity is even more pronounced than that (in day shifts favor, of course!) It also really sticks in my craw when I hear from a 7am-7pmer, "Well, all they do is sleep." Are you kidding me???? If they happen to be inadequately medicated for pain (which day shift OFTEN happens to "forget") and/or they have psych or dementia issues, the night shift is when these behaviors come into full flower! Of course, the physician on call or the hospitalist LOVES to help the nurses on night shift out by writing for us......especially on a patient not on their list! Day shift ALWAYS remembers to ask that patient's PCP for medication that is primarily used at night. Its also lovely that if we are short-staffed, we don't have the clinical supervisor (or DON if in Long Term Care) right there to advocate for float (or agency) to be sent to bail us out! Its also lovely that we are ALWAYS included in all the parties, awards, and holiday celebrations! Too, when management needs to contact us with a question, they think NOTHING of calling us at 1pm! Remember, our 1pm is JUST EXACTLY LIKE YOUR 1am!!!! If we even DARED calling any of you day shifters at 1am with any simple routine call or question, we would be ripped apart and eaten alive! We are CONSTANTLY short of CNA's on nights as well, which means that in addition to performing our nursing cares (just like YOU do), we are always put into the situation of needing to help the poor Aides that are there! Now, I know that day shift RNs sometimes help out here and there but, NOT TO THE EXTENT that we do at night! Also, as far as procedures go, patients just LOVE to be awakened at night for some sort of care that's been ordered (or day shift "forgot" or was just "too busy to do!") Additionally, management thinks nothing of scheduling in-services or "mandatory meetings" right smack dab in the middle of the day.......even when a particular night RN has to come in at 7pm that same noc! Oh, the extra paperwork is just LOVELY too! (setting up transport, paging lab, day shift staffing sheets, etc..etc...on and on...) In LTC, there is also this wonderful little event called MEDICATION EXCHANGE that Nights, and ONLY Nights gets stuck with doing! You know, I could go on and on about the hundreds of little things that we bear night after night but, I don't want to sound petty! LOL To top it all off, you rarely hear us complain about the laziness of the opposite shift whereas day shift just LOVES giving all of our shift LOTS of grief for this or for that. I am really tired of it. Besides, if the night shift is SOOOOO EASY, why aren't ALL these day-shifters clamoring to switch to nights???? I know, I know, it is because: 1) They have families, 2) Their body just CAN'T adjust to sleeping during the day, 3) Or some other EXCUSE! Believe me, night shift nurses are professionals who need to be excellent time managers, diagnosticians, rapidly adjust themselves to a whole variety of diverse and demanding circumstances! Perhaps, it might be MORE in our interest to see the benefits of banding together rather than pointing out the "differences between days and nights" in such a way as to disparage those of us who are night owls and keep the home fires burning whilst everyone else in the world sleeps???? I have the deepest respect for any of my fellow nurses and I recognize that I wouldn't be a good fit for the day shift either. But, that doesn't mean that I am ANY LESS of a clinician than someone who works when the sun is shinning outside! Thank you.
OH no no no ma'am/sir. I work at an acute care facility on day shift and these are my experiences. 1. Day shift is NOT always adequately staffed; when we are fully staffed, it still feels as though we are carrying a 1.5 load. Night shift is OFTEN OVERSTAFFED, and are either called off or are floated. 2. I have worked a couple of 24 shifts and in my experience, NIGHT SHIFT IS LESS STRESSFUL!! i'm not saying that night shift isn't busy, but staff having the time to yack and take all the scheduled breaks. There are fewer pm meds; night RNs aren't dealing with meal trays +insulin; YES the majority of the patients are sleeping so that does help! Granted, the sundowner patients can wake up the entire unit. 3. day AND night medicate for pain. In fact, we have a practice to medicate the patient close to shift change to help the oncoming nurse. 4. When a patient is admitted, we log ALL of their home meds. We don't care about the schedule, we care that medication regimen in continued. 5. Calling the ONE hospitalist at night would be a pain in the butt. However, day RNs try to get what we can ordered before the 15+ hospitalists home. 6. OH no no. No one should be calling at night nurse at 1pm, that's just rude 7. HA! Night shift CNAs are chillin'. I've seen the call lights go off while the CNAs are chatting with each other or the nurse. Blew my mind! 8. Paperwork? night shift complains that they get the admits! UH, day shift gets admits AND discharges. I dare a night shift RN to discharge 2-3 patients, admit 1 or 2 and transfer 1 in. In short, day shift RN in my experience IS busier than the night schedule. There are fewer doctors, family members (if any), and the majority of the patients are asleep.
iowasenator...I agree with you I have been a critical care nurse for eight years all on night shift. I understand that days are busy, but nights are busy too. We don't ever have tech, we pass more than fifteen meds per patient, and people don't sleep at night. Furthermore, all of the rapid responses and codes seem to happen at night. Like on reader pointed out, we don't have the luxury to turn our chair around and ask a doctor for orders. We call in the middle of the.
Right on. Not to mention pt coding at 3am. 2RN 2CNA's 46 pt in subacute/ Ltac unit, no other suporting staff, you better be on your A game. I always say working night shift is like having 2 jobs.. 1being a nurse 2 staying awake is a job on itself. I also, appreciate day shift nurses w/ admissions/discharges, charting🤦🏽♀️. But we won't have it any other way💪🏼. Nurses Rock👌👩🏭👨🏭
Good Video! The hospital where I worked night was just as crazy as days but just less hospital staff around. Dont forget the sun downer patients that wanna fight or go to the mall at 1am in the morning lol. One 70 year old lady call the police and we didn't know and they showed up. She then proudly announced she was having the president's baby and her water was about to break! She then proceeded to urinate on the floor...
Maybe at your hospital that's how it is but night shift at my facility can be really busy! I rotate from night shift and day shift so I am familiar with the workload of both shifts. On night shift we get 7 patients with no CNAs. On day shift we get 5 patients with 4 CNAs. The unit that I work on is a medical/oncology floor as well so we give chemo quite a bit. Our chemo is mainly given at night as well. Some nights are so crazy that I often wonder why I got into this profession in the first place. During the night I am often hanging chemo on 3 patients, having Rituxan or Darzalex running on one patient and needing to take vital signs every 30 minutes until the infusion is complete (usually a 4-6 hour process), checking blood sugars every hour on the patient that's on an insulin drip which in most facilities is a PCU or ICU patient, dealing with the common sundowners trying to contact the night hospitalist who often likes to ignore your calls for some haldol, giving blood and platelet transfusions to my other post chemo patients that have a hgb of 5.4 and a PLT of 7 and trying to get all my charting done and put together a decent report so the oncoming day shift nurse doesn't think I'm a complete incompetent idiot who was nice enough to get most of the work done throughout the night so he/she can have a better day. I feel bad for my patients because some of my patients barely get to see me because I am so busy. At the end of the day, we are all BUSY. Day shift and night shift. BUT that is nursing and nursing is the profession that we chose and i absolutely LOVE IT!!
wow that's tuff. I also work in a floor with no aides or CNA's in a step down. Blood tranfsuions are so annoying. I totallty understand though and it's almost the same for me getting everything done and trying to finish charting at the end to give a decent report to the next nurse.
Just another Day Queen! Listen princess, the job is what you make it. If nurses want to sit and grow adipose tissue they can do it on any shift. In 18 years of Nursing, the busiest job I've ever had was at night in a small emergency room.
Thomas Hart I work emergency as well. I believe it requires a different breed of crazy, I mean nurse. The atmosphere is totally different. On my shift, I pass meds non-stop and half of the patients are what the floor would call rapid response.
You want to be resourceful nurse, work the night shift. All of those doctors, cnas, support staff, etc that he mention during his day shift glorification rant....they are not there. Imagine the day shift without the resources.
I work nights, but it is no where near as easy as you say. I work on a very busy cardiac unit that gives us 7 patients. Day shift gets 5 patients. Night shift also have no doctors in the hospital that we can call and the on call docs hardly answer the phone in the night. We have no EKG techs so we do ALL of our own EKG 's. All dressing changes are done on nights, meanwhile you can bet that at least one of the seven has dementia or sundowner. We are lucky if they sleep too. For whatever reason all our doctors give dilaudid q2, q3, or q4 for chest pain. Why? I have no clue. Those are only SOME of the things night shift deals with. I was also told one day by day shift that we do not deserve the differential that we get to work nights!
+Ames Bams Agree entirely. Beyond everything you said, I'll just go ahead and add on the fact that (at least in my hospital) night shift has different paging protocol, a limited number of pharmacists, no case management or social workers, nurses having to be more decisive about paging with questions to clarify orders, or regarding critical labs and assessment findings, 0400 labs for most patients (which is conveniently when they tend to finally fall asleep!), waking people up to do assessments and administer PO meds, closely monitoring lab results and initiating blood administration according to parameters...along with the inevitable patient(s) who stay awake through the night and want their PRN meds to be treated as scheduled (of course the pain meds are Q4 and the nausea meds are Q3, or vice versa, so they stagger awkwardly) and yell at you for being 10 minutes late for administration, and trying your damnedest to coordinate with the HCA/CNA to cluster activities in order to not disturb the patients who do happen to be sleeping.
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I work in a stepdown PCU unit in a Level 1 trauma hospital, and I've found what you said does NOT seem to match what I have seen. Start with the FSBG and insulin. Our hospital has finger sticks ac/hs/03, so we have to do sticks at about 10 and again around 0300. And we usually have drips going, from cardizem to cardene (on monitor with charted hourly vitals) and heparin, etc. Everyone on tele. Far more totals than med surg due to higher acuity. Then there are sundowners. Also we have some things that they have nights do that's days does not, like care plan review/change/updates. Also, we get the hard admissions - far more Emergency admits at night, plus the drunks and druggies and violence cases that are badly injured or with bad hearts that dont show up days but love to trash themselves at night and in up in the ED than up they come to us. Days you have patients off the floor a lot (like dialysis, procedures, etc) which can help you catch up a bit. And to top it off, we have higher ratio than days so we are carrying more patients, are much more thinly staffed (harder to get people to work nights), which means that your nursing buddy you can go to during the day is buried at night and cannot come help some of the time. Then there's also fewer techs, sometimes none at all because its hard to cover an absence with PRN at night. So nights are not the cake walk you paint them to be. Most importantly, the MDs are not there, just overworked hospitalists, so unlike days, we cannot just call a doc for some things - especially at 2:30 AM. We are much more on our own, have to make a lot more judgement calls, and have to operate farther out on the edge of our license. I've worked both, and they are equally difficult, just in different ways. IMHO you have to be a stronger nurse at night simply because you are on your own far more than during days.
I work step down as well. I feel you. When day shift rolls in asking about a certain order and why is wasn't in is a joke. They don't understand that we don't even have techs clerks other staff and that the on call resident has 30 pts compared to the day resident who has like 8. Try getting an order for xyz from that resident when there were 3 rapids a code a fall and 4 admissions. 😂😂😂 now excuse me while i finish getting everyone's blood... not like they know what that means
My Goodness you have described this 100% truthfully!!!!! I never thought I was going to be as busy as I am when I was in nursing school. but I love it too!!!
I work Med/Surg as a travel nurse and I have worked both Day and Night shift and I can honestly say that I am just as busy as night. No time for play or taking it easy...........
+Roy Edwards I have to agree with you! I do split shifts on float pool...half nights, half days. I get my location assignment 2 hours before I go in for shift. On average, both are equally busy, just in a different way.
You gotta know your shit to work nights. I say this because, you work days, all you have to do is pick up the phone, or turn your chair around and there is a doctor there, ready to give an order. Nights, you need something at 0200?... you better damn well know what you are asking for and make sure you havent already tried something to fix the problem before you call. Non of this, "let me call the doctor to see if I can increase my O2 from 2 to 3 liters..." You will usually get an on call doc who knows nothing of the patient so you better have your stuff together at that point. Critical thinking skills are tested BIG on nights. Yeah, we have down time sometimes, but when shit hits the fan, you better have a great team working next to you because thats who youre gonna be bouncing stuff off back and forth to get these patients through the night. Im not talking about your heart caths or your abd pains, Im talking about your open hearts and your septic patients... your patients with 6+ gtts going, more monitors than you can fit and more tubing hanging off their necks, groins and whatever other place you can get a line into. You are the only one standing between your critically ill patient and the doctor, so once again, you better know your shit....
+medranofamilyCA You are RIGHT ON THE MONEY! It bothers me that for those of us who work nights..we have to fight so damned hard just to have even just a small amount of recognition for all we do! I don't work nocs because its easier, I work them because I'm a night owl who despises being around administration all of the time! hehehehehe Keep up your excellent advocacy of us Night-Shifters! :)
medranofamilyCA hear hear! i would love to do just nights because im a night owl too. where i work one set is 2days 2 nights so everybody works day shift or nights.
This all depends on your unit. Some units are insane at night, not to mention it's harder to reach docs and etc, so it's a lot more autonomy used. But good ol ER is busy no matter what time
Dang he made It seem as though night shift is easy... now I’ve done both shifts both have pros and cons. On both I’ve worked my ass off. I don’t believe one is easier than the other you just have to adjust and deal.
So true about day shift. But it feels like a good type of busy. I like being on the go, the constant interaction even though it may be tough at times, and you get to exercise 😊
While I can appreciate how crazy you say it is on days taking care of 5 patients in a hospital setting in sure, I have to chuckle a little because I take care of 25 patients on a skilled floor with anywhere from 2 meds to 20 meds each. it takes 3 hours to pass meds alone! Then there are accuchecks, g-tubes, Foley caths, picc lines, wounds needing drsg changes, orders to process, family members forever asking for something or having questions, drawing my own labs, noon med pass that takes another 40 minutes. There are days I don't even get breaks or a lunch! it's crazy to say the least.
What country do you live in? cause I know in the US OSHA has a limit on how many patients you can take care because taking care of 20 patients is unsafe
+Ana Reyes The state of Illinois determines the ratio of nurse to patient. And trust me, every facility uses the bare minimum. For 50 patients, you get 2 nurses on 1st shift, 1.5 nurses on 2nd shift, and 1 nurse on 3rd.
There's a very important and practical reason family members have more questions than patients. People often plan it in advance. When someone is ill, they don't have the wherewithal to be on the ball, and think of the logical concerns associated with what they are, or aren't being told about what's wrong with them. That's why people need patient advocates. Family members are the most common patient advocates--asking the questions the patient is too unwell to ask him/herself.
Completely agree I started out as a new grad on a medical tele floor and the day shift had the same nurse to patient ratios as night except 5x more work. Days are crazy u punch in its go,go,go, faster,faster,faster. I would have to stay after untill 9pm to chart some days it was not worth it, the stress, feelings of inadequacy, it was just not for me. Went to nights its completely different environment, it can get busy but you dont have interruption from family, docs, etc and there is just less to do and most importantly NO PHONE CALLS. Night shift all the way.
I did nights on and off and have now sworn if its within my control I'll never do a night shift again!!! i put on so many weight eating at odd hours (pizza, pancakes with bacon and eggs u name it lol) and i had no social life cos while people were out. I was either sleeping or getting ready to go to work!!! That said night colleagues are just more fun and work better as a team!!!
Haha OMG its crazzzzzzy RITE!!! I started on nights and now I am on days too. It is insane how much work actually has to be done! So proud of you, you are doing so well =)
I am in hospital right now in odessa tx.been here 5 days and today well at night shift they are so loud can here them playing and laughing really loud.keep waking me up. Day shift is when I am going to have to sleep I guess.
Yo Renee!!! Days is a complete change from Nights but I love it either way because we are helping these sick patients to recuperate, heal and be independent again!!! Gotta love a Male Nurse...lol
Oh my gosh! Wow! Thank you for helping me get an idea of how to delegate and how to prioritize what to do when patients are choking for a G tube feeding, want to go AMA, etc.
I have worked both shifts in my nursing career. It depends in which setting you are working in. I have worked psych and most recently a dementia unit. These people don't sleep. Ever. Not to mention most people begin to decline healthwise at night. We also have more deaths in most settings on nights. Most of the time I spend my first two hours of my shift finishing what day shift left behind or were too lazy to do. (I know cause I have worked days as well.... we are all guilty of "oh just leave it for midnights") I also have to do assessments from every patient that has been acutely ill during the day shift. I also have had to obtain orders on nights.. People also "Sundown"... if you don't know what this is, look it up. Family members are also present around the clock. And because people die more on nights, I am the one who has to call to tell them their loved one is dead. In the settings I have worked in, we are responsible for setting up what days does. Doctors day, checking in weekly meds and ensuring one by one is rights, along with orders.. which most of the time they don't match up, so you are forced to call doctors in the middle of the night, or the pharmacy. And we have no management to back us up at all. We are responsible for staffing and replacing people, all the while doing what was mentioned above. I also have 70 people to medicate. And I am the working supervisor of 10+ staff. Either way, both shifts are hard. The only difference is, is I do it on no sleep.
I work night shift in long term care as an RPN. My routine is actually quite busy on some nights. Every night is different. Some nights I get all my stuff done in a couple hours and between first rounds where I help my PSW with changes and second rounds it can be quiet. Most of my work does not involve giving meds. On my unit I literally have 5 pills to give in the morning plus any PRN lol. I do things like checking water temperatures, fridge temperatures, residents hydration status and if I need to initiate hydration protocols, auditing narcotic count book to make sure people sign their meds, ordering and receiving meds, processing MD orders, looking to see who needs a laxative or not, care planning, assessing residents if needed, checking all the rooms to make sure all my residents are in bed sleeping, charting, answering call bells. Night shift is the least busy shift but most of our residents have dementia and thats when they have the most trouble. We also only 6-8 staff in the building. Listening to your day shift story, not sure I could do it in a hospital setting. I do want to work in the hospital though lol. As an RPN I can only work on units with stable patients.
I agree day shift is INSANELY busy. You don't even get to sit down, I've had family members follow me to the restroom, try to enter the nrsg station, fall risks off the chain not to mention PRNs for pain, nausea, PCA pumps, accu checks, admits and d/cs like crazy! but i wouldn't change to night shift, at the end of the day I feel a sense of accomplishment, the time FLIES by and you get to enjoy actual human interaction!!
I literally subscribed and followed u in every social media outlet.. twitter, IG, TH-cam next up fb.. gotta find u lol.. fellow student nurse here and currently an EMT for 8yrs now. Love ur channel!
Excellent Video! And inspiration I will be starting nursing school soon. I already have my MBA in HealthCare Administration, Master of Science in Health Education, and will have my RN in about two years. I will be Top Billie! I love it!
Thanks, i've been kinda going back and forth on which shift I should start my first nursing job on. I think i'll stick with night shift. The only thing is that I don't know how to go back to a regular sleep schedule for the entire week.
Night shift has it's own drawbacks when you are new to nursing. ( There are less opportunities to see and assist in procedures for example.) Which ever shift you choose, identify with a more experienced nurse who will be willing to mentor you during the first few months following the end of your probationary period. Good luck to you in your new career..
+imabirdnerd Thanls! Sorry for the late response. I actually had to start out on day shift and then switch to night shift. Night shift is killing me physically and emotionally. Can't wait to go back to days
I was a day shift nurse for 3 years. I worked in nursing homes where I had 25-30 patients every day. Day shift is hard, you run all day, but! The day passes much more quickly. You go to chart, do orders, call pharmacy, and you look up and it's 3. I have found the few times I've worked nights the shift passes much more slowly.
This is so awesome; I couldn't stop laughing because it's so true. I work in a Medical Stroke/Oncology Unit during the day, and you pretty much described my typical day, and honestly, that sounded like a "good" day. Hahaha thanks for posting!
I did nights on my practicum as a graduating nurse and am now working days as an RN. So with a little experience on both sides of the fence, I have to say: days are stupid crazy and difficult. But you will gain so much experience as a day shifter because it's a sink or swim environment. You either succeed or quit. Nights are a different kind of crazy because the night staff has less support.
So true, it's even hectic on a day shift in a psychiatric hospital! Patient's wanting to leave, AMA, just after they've signed a 3 day, its just as busy.
I work nights in a very busy er where 4-5hour waits is the norm when I get in at 7p. We are talking crazy busy. ED transport leaves at 11 pm and we will have maybe 1 tech to 3 nurses. So crazy as it may feel making sure you "x ray tech gets your patient to x ray." On nights I'm the one pushing them to there testing. I also have to get admission orders from Drs at 2 am. This means I better know exactly what I need the Dr to know about the case and what orders I need him to hive me because at 2 am he isn't looking at the chart to check lab values and vital sign trends. At 2 am you have to grab some of these drs by the hand and outline the entire case in about 5 Minutes because otherwise he'll be snoring on the other end of the phone. There is no support staff at night. If something needed to get done in the middle of the night it's all nursing staff that had to do it. there's no physical therapy no transport no phlebotomy no dietary no pre-op holding no distribution nothing. There may seem like more movement with the patients during the days but there is a whole lot more people to move them.
but keep in mind that noc shift is always understaffed. Yes, it might appear like it's going good, but night shift is working without the help of another CNA, RN, Unit Secretary and support staff...all while doing this with limited supplies.
I don't know if it's just my floor, but I work nights and I rarely sit down. usually more than half our patients have sundowners or ciwa. it is nuts! the nighttime is when the crazy stuff comes alive. can't tell how many people we've had to restrain or how many times I've been punched. lol.
They both sound hectic... Like you said u have to have the energy no matter what. I think I would want to work as night shirt because of my kids.. Thanks for sharing your insights
I work at night and have been on nights for a year wouldnt change it for the world I could work days because i like to stay busy but there is so much that goes on sometimes on my floor during the day that makes it a bit overwhelming by the way love your channel
While I'm not a nurse I've worked 4:30pm to 1 am and also 5am to 1:30 pm there is a huge difference in interaction with people and what you can get done . I've found i rather focus on my work and not people . I am curious about the health effects on night shift workers though .
I'm a CNA thinking about going for RN and I can say I worked all shifts in a LTC facility the nurses sit on their asses and chart all day, the CNA's do most of the work and if they can't handle it or if it's serious a Nurse will come (Most likely it's the LPN first) I've seen nurses work very hard like you said you do, but you deff have lazy one's who look down on other people. I rather be busy than bored at work because like you said it's goes by fast! Stay Blessed
Omg I hate night shift!!! My job is an hour away. I'm getting dressed by 8p leave by 9p work at10p-6a home by 7a eat then asleep by 8a sleep until 2p or 3p if I'm lucky studying for a couple hours and nap from 5-8p then do it all again I hate it
I've always wondered why night nurses are offered a shift differential when day nurses experience so much. When I become a nurse, I definitely want to work the day shift.
Nurse Mendoza, I am disabled after being an RN for 17 years. During that time I only worked with a "Male Nurse" a couple of times. Unfortunately neither of these gentlemen did anything they could get out of, no matter how much I tried to impress upon them how important to pull their own weight. We all needed advice and help from each other in order to take care of the patients entrusted to us. I never understood how you could ask a fellow nurse for help, such as starting a difficult IV, getting a patient to go to surgery, etc. only to find him sitting in my office reading a sci-fi book once I had finished taking care of his patient. This kind of behavior was tolerated, because the hospital "needed male nurses on staff" ????What???? Busy hospital units need GOOD employees, including nurses that respect and help their coworkers regardless of what sex those caregivers happen to be. I'm really very sorry that I didn't get the opportunity to work with more (and better) male nurses. Remember that you represent your race, sex, etc. as you carry out your career. People tend to group you together with less committed persons of what you represent. Surprise them by doing your work with the attitude that every patient's care is effected if and when other nurses leave their patients to tend to yours.
imabirdnerd sounds like you are more upset with the hospital for not hiring good "people" vs the need for "male nurses". I know lazy nurses, both male and female. Be careful how you word things because you come across very angry with men. If this is the case for you, it sounds like you may have bigger issues than "male nurses".
I completely agree with you, day shift you have to deal with discharges, rounding physicans the ass relatives who are bugging you and asking you to bring this and that.
Well I don't know about the Bay Area, but here in Texas (Houston), there are TONS and TONS of job offerings for new graduates. You can usually go to a hospital's website and check out their job openings. Usually they'll tell you if they accept new grads for the position and chances are, you'll find a lot of openings. There isn't a 100% chance that there will be jobs by the time you graduate, but if there are a lot now, you can pretty much count on jobs in the future as well.
I'm a Corrections nurse. It's funny to hear people talking about 45 meds as being a lot. I have roughly 400 people on my med pass, takes me about an hour and a half to do.
XxORIFxX Dude, it is literally impossible to have 400 people to give meds to. I will not even address the part where you were a superman and completed your medpass in less than 2 hrs🤔🙄
Damn EVERYTHING sounds crazy, I'm getting into the nursing program soon I'm still not even sure if it's really for me because it gets me nervous the thought of peoples lives in your hands or messing up.
Sorry to say this but nursing isn't for you. If you even think twice if nursing is for you or not, it isn't. Nursing school is just the beginning of your stress and anxiety, it gets worst when you start working especially your first few months as a nurse. Hopefully it's not too late to change your major.
I've always wondered how people on night shift would adjust to sleeping patterns. Just seeing if you would describe how you managed your sleep routine throughout the week, and if you worked 3 days back to back?
USA seem's so different. I'm in first year, only done 2 nights but I prefer them as I found I learnt more, had more time to talk to the nurses ect. But in UK we don't have the option of doing 6 months of nights, I think you have to do 50% days 50% nights each month so you could be doing 3 days then have like a day or 2 off the do 2 nights, have a days off then do 4 days then have 2 days off and you back on 3 nights. It's crazy, NHS is crazy! I wish it was like USA!
I work in a facility that the nurses perform the phlebotomy, there is NO backup for labs. I cannot imagine all the stats ordered throughout the day! I have to meet a lot of am lab work time management. But no I don't EVER want to be dayshift at my current faciility
Days have someone to draw labs, to do finger sticks, to help with admits and discharges, to transport to radiology, to answer call bells, to assist with random patient needs, to strip and clean rooms after discharge, to build the hard chart, to gather vitals, to help prep rooms for an admit, to perform EKGs, etc... now this may not be true of every facility. I often have 5 nurses for night and the next morning 12 plus nurses are coming in?
Much truth here assuming you're not speaking of ED, i.e. inpatient floors. ED is much tougher overnight vs. days. Tougher/hectic = floors, days. ED, nights. Way more of the frequent fliers, seekers, traumas, SI, HI, and just pure crazy people at night in the ED than day shift.
I've been a nightshift nurse for the last 3 years. Your explanation of what a night is like is so inaccurate!! #patientsdontsleep #Q4vitalsigns #q6bloodsugarchecksfortubefeeds #midnightmeds #twoAMmeds #justtonameafew
What about patients being sweethearts , alert , oriented and all but get terrible sundowns at night huh.!! Code greys , haldol, ativan!! Whatever works ... Then Doctors going off on you for calling them at the middle of the night... But yes, we keep getting admissions!!
Hi Mendoza, GREAT video! I am planning to go for an accelerated nursing program. Im just wondering if you had any patient care experiences before you apply to nursing school? How did you get those experiences? Thanks alot!! :)
I find preventative measures make my life easier as a medsurge nurse. Who you see first and what to anticipate and prevent to make my life or that of patient better. In nursing you have to work smarter not harder. Otherwise you end up taking care of problems you could have prevented. In that day you speak of when you reflected what could you have prevented?
I find that day shift and night shift are TOTALLY different and not really at all comparable. At night it is just me with 4-5 patients, no one from lab, or pharmacy, only a night doc who rarely wants to order anything for fear of angering the "real/ team" docs, no student nurses, no CNAs, just me (an LPN) with 4-5 and my RN with 4-5 and since we practice primary nursing... mine are truly mine unless I need a med pushed. I do HS and AM (AC) finger sticks, lab draws, trips to xray, EKGs, etc....
Just another day nurse saying how they are SOOO busy and night staff is just relaxing doing nothing. Tired of this stereotype. Night staff busts ass and most patients don't sleep. Working night shift in a hospital is the most under appreciated position you will ever have.
he said in the video night gets busy.
I totally agree, I have hung meds q h on several patients all night, scheduled meds all night, walking, bathing, toileting, dressing changes, all night. No one sleeps. We are chronically understaffed. The only difference is the ratio (6:1vs 5:1) and the atmosphere. Oh, and the lights are dimmer.
Wait a minute! I might be wrong but, I feel as if you're saying that nocs are a piece of cake compared to the day shift. Perhaps my perception of your opinion is incorrect. If so, I apologize. I have worked the night shift for about 75% of my career as a Registered Nurse and you have a very typical "day shift" attitude toward our work at night! From our point of view, it must be VERY VERY NICE to have about 1/4 to 1/2 the patient load we have on nights....and often the staffing disparity is even more pronounced than that (in day shifts favor, of course!) It also really sticks in my craw when I hear from a 7am-7pmer, "Well, all they do is sleep." Are you kidding me???? If they happen to be inadequately medicated for pain (which day shift OFTEN happens to "forget") and/or they have psych or dementia issues, the night shift is when these behaviors come into full flower! Of course, the physician on call or the hospitalist LOVES to help the nurses on night shift out by writing for us......especially on a patient not on their list! Day shift ALWAYS remembers to ask that patient's PCP for medication that is primarily used at night. Its also lovely that if we are short-staffed, we don't have the clinical supervisor (or DON if in Long Term Care) right there to advocate for float (or agency) to be sent to bail us out! Its also lovely that we are ALWAYS included in all the parties, awards, and holiday celebrations! Too, when management needs to contact us with a question, they think NOTHING of calling us at 1pm! Remember, our 1pm is JUST EXACTLY LIKE YOUR 1am!!!! If we even DARED calling any of you day shifters at 1am with any simple routine call or question, we would be ripped apart and eaten alive! We are CONSTANTLY short of CNA's on nights as well, which means that in addition to performing our nursing cares (just like YOU do), we are always put into the situation of needing to help the poor Aides that are there! Now, I know that day shift RNs sometimes help out here and there but, NOT TO THE EXTENT that we do at night! Also, as far as procedures go, patients just LOVE to be awakened at night for some sort of care that's been ordered (or day shift "forgot" or was just "too busy to do!") Additionally, management thinks nothing of scheduling in-services or "mandatory meetings" right smack dab in the middle of the day.......even when a particular night RN has to come in at 7pm that same noc! Oh, the extra paperwork is just LOVELY too! (setting up transport, paging lab, day shift staffing sheets, etc..etc...on and on...) In LTC, there is also this wonderful little event called MEDICATION EXCHANGE that Nights, and ONLY Nights gets stuck with doing! You know, I could go on and on about the hundreds of little things that we bear night after night but, I don't want to sound petty! LOL To top it all off, you rarely hear us complain about the laziness of the opposite shift whereas day shift just LOVES giving all of our shift LOTS of grief for this or for that. I am really tired of it. Besides, if the night shift is SOOOOO EASY, why aren't ALL these day-shifters clamoring to switch to nights???? I know, I know, it is because: 1) They have families, 2) Their body just CAN'T adjust to sleeping during the day, 3) Or some other EXCUSE! Believe me, night shift nurses are professionals who need to be excellent time managers, diagnosticians, rapidly adjust themselves to a whole variety of diverse and demanding circumstances! Perhaps, it might be MORE in our interest to see the benefits of banding together rather than pointing out the "differences between days and nights" in such a way as to disparage those of us who are night owls and keep the home fires burning whilst everyone else in the world sleeps???? I have the deepest respect for any of my fellow nurses and I recognize that I wouldn't be a good fit for the day shift either. But, that doesn't mean that I am ANY LESS of a clinician than someone who works when the sun is shinning outside! Thank you.
Sounds like my past 1 year as a new RN working nights on cardiac/telemetry
Amen!
OH no no no ma'am/sir. I work at an acute care facility on day shift and these are my experiences.
1. Day shift is NOT always adequately staffed; when we are fully staffed, it still feels as though we are carrying a 1.5 load. Night shift is OFTEN OVERSTAFFED, and are either called off or are floated.
2. I have worked a couple of 24 shifts and in my experience, NIGHT SHIFT IS LESS STRESSFUL!! i'm not saying that night shift isn't busy, but staff having the time to yack and take all the scheduled breaks. There are fewer pm meds; night RNs aren't dealing with meal trays +insulin; YES the majority of the patients are sleeping so that does help! Granted, the sundowner patients can wake up the entire unit.
3. day AND night medicate for pain. In fact, we have a practice to medicate the patient close to shift change to help the oncoming nurse.
4. When a patient is admitted, we log ALL of their home meds. We don't care about the schedule, we care that medication regimen in continued.
5. Calling the ONE hospitalist at night would be a pain in the butt. However, day RNs try to get what we can ordered before the 15+ hospitalists home.
6. OH no no. No one should be calling at night nurse at 1pm, that's just rude
7. HA! Night shift CNAs are chillin'. I've seen the call lights go off while the CNAs are chatting with each other or the nurse. Blew my mind!
8. Paperwork? night shift complains that they get the admits! UH, day shift gets admits AND discharges. I dare a night shift RN to discharge 2-3 patients, admit 1 or 2 and transfer 1 in.
In short, day shift RN in my experience IS busier than the night schedule. There are fewer doctors, family members (if any), and the majority of the patients are asleep.
iowasenator...I agree with you
I have been a critical care nurse for eight years all on night shift. I understand that days are busy, but nights are busy too. We don't ever have tech, we pass more than fifteen meds per patient, and people don't sleep at night. Furthermore, all of the rapid responses and codes seem to happen at night.
Like on reader pointed out, we don't have the luxury to turn our chair around and ask a doctor for orders. We call in the middle of the.
Right on. Not to mention pt coding at 3am. 2RN 2CNA's 46 pt in subacute/ Ltac unit, no other suporting staff, you better be on your A game. I always say working night shift is like having 2 jobs.. 1being a nurse 2 staying awake is a job on itself. I also, appreciate day shift nurses w/ admissions/discharges, charting🤦🏽♀️. But we won't have it any other way💪🏼. Nurses Rock👌👩🏭👨🏭
Good Video! The hospital where I worked night was just as crazy as days but just less hospital staff around. Dont forget the sun downer patients that wanna fight or go to the mall at 1am in the morning lol. One 70 year old lady call the police and we didn't know and they showed up. She then proudly announced she was having the president's baby and her water was about to break! She then proceeded to urinate on the floor...
He is totally right--night shift is much better. I feel like I can actually provide good patient care at night.
Maybe at your hospital that's how it is but night shift at my facility can be really busy! I rotate from night shift and day shift so I am familiar with the workload of both shifts. On night shift we get 7 patients with no CNAs. On day shift we get 5 patients with 4 CNAs. The unit that I work on is a medical/oncology floor as well so we give chemo quite a bit. Our chemo is mainly given at night as well. Some nights are so crazy that I often wonder why I got into this profession in the first place. During the night I am often hanging chemo on 3 patients, having Rituxan or Darzalex running on one patient and needing to take vital signs every 30 minutes until the infusion is complete (usually a 4-6 hour process), checking blood sugars every hour on the patient that's on an insulin drip which in most facilities is a PCU or ICU patient, dealing with the common sundowners trying to contact the night hospitalist who often likes to ignore your calls for some haldol, giving blood and platelet transfusions to my other post chemo patients that have a hgb of 5.4 and a PLT of 7 and trying to get all my charting done and put together a decent report so the oncoming day shift nurse doesn't think I'm a complete incompetent idiot who was nice enough to get most of the work done throughout the night so he/she can have a better day. I feel bad for my patients because some of my patients barely get to see me because I am so busy. At the end of the day, we are all BUSY. Day shift and night shift. BUT that is nursing and nursing is the profession that we chose and i absolutely LOVE IT!!
wow that's tuff. I also work in a floor with no aides or CNA's in a step down. Blood tranfsuions are so annoying. I totallty understand though and it's almost the same for me getting everything done and trying to finish charting at the end to give a decent report to the next nurse.
As a prudent nurse your assessment and prioritizing makes a world of difference when many things go wrong at the same time.
Just another Day Queen! Listen princess, the job is what you make it. If nurses want to sit and grow adipose tissue they can do it on any shift. In 18 years of Nursing, the busiest job I've ever had was at night in a small emergency room.
Thomas Hart I work emergency as well. I believe it requires a different breed of crazy, I mean nurse. The atmosphere is totally different. On my shift, I pass meds non-stop and half of the patients are what the floor would call rapid response.
Keep in mind you have less staff at night for same patient population
In my old facility day RN 's had 5 patient's and nights had 7/8! With one cna to 25 patient's. Plus less staff in other departments overall!
You want to be resourceful nurse, work the night shift. All of those doctors, cnas, support staff, etc that he mention during his day shift glorification rant....they are not there. Imagine the day shift without the resources.
You said it Carl!!!
I work nights, but it is no where near as easy as you say. I work on a very busy cardiac unit that gives us 7 patients. Day shift gets 5 patients. Night shift also have no doctors in the hospital that we can call and the on call docs hardly answer the phone in the night. We have no EKG techs so we do ALL of our own EKG 's. All dressing changes are done on nights, meanwhile you can bet that at least one of the seven has dementia or sundowner. We are lucky if they sleep too. For whatever reason all our doctors give dilaudid q2, q3, or q4 for chest pain. Why? I have no clue. Those are only SOME of the things night shift deals with. I was also told one day by day shift that we do not deserve the differential that we get to work nights!
+Ames Bams
Agree entirely. Beyond everything you said, I'll just go ahead and add on the fact that (at least in my hospital) night shift has different paging protocol, a limited number of pharmacists, no case management or social workers, nurses having to be more decisive about paging with questions to clarify orders, or regarding critical labs and assessment findings, 0400 labs for most patients (which is conveniently when they tend to finally fall asleep!), waking people up to do assessments and administer PO meds, closely monitoring lab results and initiating blood administration according to parameters...along with the inevitable patient(s) who stay awake through the night and want their PRN meds to be treated as scheduled (of course the pain meds are Q4 and the nausea meds are Q3, or vice versa, so they stagger awkwardly) and yell at you for being 10 minutes late for administration, and trying your damnedest to coordinate with the HCA/CNA to cluster activities in order to not disturb the patients who do happen to be sleeping.
Suffice it to say that night shift is in some ways not as busy, but is much harder. We just do not have the resources that day shift has.
I've been on a marathon watching all your videos! I love them and love seeing how passionate you are about nursing!
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I work in a stepdown PCU unit in a Level 1 trauma hospital, and I've found what you said does NOT seem to match what I have seen. Start with the FSBG and insulin. Our hospital has finger sticks ac/hs/03, so we have to do sticks at about 10 and again around 0300. And we usually have drips going, from cardizem to cardene (on monitor with charted hourly vitals) and heparin, etc. Everyone on tele. Far more totals than med surg due to higher acuity. Then there are sundowners. Also we have some things that they have nights do that's days does not, like care plan review/change/updates. Also, we get the hard admissions - far more Emergency admits at night, plus the drunks and druggies and violence cases that are badly injured or with bad hearts that dont show up days but love to trash themselves at night and in up in the ED than up they come to us. Days you have patients off the floor a lot (like dialysis, procedures, etc) which can help you catch up a bit. And to top it off, we have higher ratio than days so we are carrying more patients, are much more thinly staffed (harder to get people to work nights), which means that your nursing buddy you can go to during the day is buried at night and cannot come help some of the time. Then there's also fewer techs, sometimes none at all because its hard to cover an absence with PRN at night. So nights are not the cake walk you paint them to be. Most importantly, the MDs are not there, just overworked hospitalists, so unlike days, we cannot just call a doc for some things - especially at 2:30 AM. We are much more on our own, have to make a lot more judgement calls, and have to operate farther out on the edge of our license. I've worked both, and they are equally difficult, just in different ways. IMHO you have to be a stronger nurse at night simply because you are on your own far more than during days.
I work step down as well. I feel you. When day shift rolls in asking about a certain order and why is wasn't in is a joke. They don't understand that we don't even have techs clerks other staff and that the on call resident has 30 pts compared to the day resident who has like 8. Try getting an order for xyz from that resident when there were 3 rapids a code a fall and 4 admissions. 😂😂😂 now excuse me while i finish getting everyone's blood... not like they know what that means
My Goodness you have described this 100% truthfully!!!!!
I never thought I was going to be as busy as I am when I was in nursing school.
but I love it too!!!
I work Med/Surg as a travel nurse and I have worked both Day and Night shift and I can honestly say that I am just as busy as night. No time for play or taking it easy...........
+Roy Edwards So true, there are some rare days where it isn't as busy as days, but nights can be just as crazy!
+Roy Edwards I have to agree with you! I do split shifts on float pool...half nights, half days. I get my location assignment 2 hours before I go in for shift. On average, both are equally busy, just in a different way.
Your videos are so inspiring for me dude, I'm studying 3rd year in Nurse career here in Mexico, Saludos hermano! :D
Very positive, we need more nurses like you!!!
Thank you on giving me the difference between the day shift and the night shift I think i will work the night shift!
You gotta know your shit to work nights. I say this because, you work days, all you have to do is pick up the phone, or turn your chair around and there is a doctor there, ready to give an order. Nights, you need something at 0200?... you better damn well know what you are asking for and make sure you havent already tried something to fix the problem before you call. Non of this, "let me call the doctor to see if I can increase my O2 from 2 to 3 liters..." You will usually get an on call doc who knows nothing of the patient so you better have your stuff together at that point. Critical thinking skills are tested BIG on nights. Yeah, we have down time sometimes, but when shit hits the fan, you better have a great team working next to you because thats who youre gonna be bouncing stuff off back and forth to get these patients through the night. Im not talking about your heart caths or your abd pains, Im talking about your open hearts and your septic patients... your patients with 6+ gtts going, more monitors than you can fit and more tubing hanging off their necks, groins and whatever other place you can get a line into. You are the only one standing between your critically ill patient and the doctor, so once again, you better know your shit....
+medranofamilyCA You are RIGHT ON THE MONEY! It bothers me that for those of us who work nights..we have to fight so damned hard just to have even just a small amount of recognition for all we do! I don't work nocs because its easier, I work them because I'm a night owl who despises being around administration all of the time! hehehehehe Keep up your excellent advocacy of us Night-Shifters! :)
medranofamilyCA hear hear! i would love to do just nights because im a night owl too. where i work one set is 2days 2 nights so everybody works day shift or nights.
I just graduated ...and got hired recently. I'm starting Night shift...oh shit...i'm nervous now.
This all depends on your unit. Some units are insane at night, not to mention it's harder to reach docs and etc, so it's a lot more autonomy used. But good ol ER is busy no matter what time
I hear you my fellow nurse, then you have to chart and the nurse mgr is like "why are you still here?"
That is exactly how it is where I work as a night shift nurse.
Dang he made It seem as though night shift is easy... now I’ve done both shifts both have pros and cons. On both I’ve worked my ass off. I don’t believe one is easier than the other you just have to adjust and deal.
So true about day shift. But it feels like a good type of busy. I like being on the go, the constant interaction even though it may be tough at times, and you get to exercise 😊
While I can appreciate how crazy you say it is on days taking care of 5 patients in a hospital setting in sure, I have to chuckle a little because I take care of 25 patients on a skilled floor with anywhere from 2 meds to 20 meds each. it takes 3 hours to pass meds alone! Then there are accuchecks, g-tubes, Foley caths, picc lines, wounds needing drsg changes, orders to process, family members forever asking for something or having questions, drawing my own labs, noon med pass that takes another 40 minutes. There are days I don't even get breaks or a lunch! it's crazy to say the least.
What country do you live in? cause I know in the US OSHA has a limit on how many patients you can take care because taking care of 20 patients is unsafe
+Ana Reyes The state of Illinois determines the ratio of nurse to patient. And trust me, every facility uses the bare minimum. For 50 patients, you get 2 nurses on 1st shift, 1.5 nurses on 2nd shift, and 1 nurse on 3rd.
+Ana Reyes where I work in the morning it's 3 nurses with 20 patients each. evening which I work is 30 each and night is the same. it's hard
There's a very important and practical reason family members have more questions than patients. People often plan it in advance. When someone is ill, they don't have the wherewithal to be on the ball, and think of the logical concerns associated with what they are, or aren't being told about what's wrong with them. That's why people need patient advocates. Family members are the most common patient advocates--asking the questions the patient is too unwell to ask him/herself.
The most ganster rocking nurse I have seen. Love you video man, I just my license.
Completely agree I started out as a new grad on a medical tele floor and the day shift had the same nurse to patient ratios as night except 5x more work. Days are crazy u punch in its go,go,go, faster,faster,faster. I would have to stay after untill 9pm to chart some days it was not worth it, the stress, feelings of inadequacy, it was just not for me. Went to nights its completely different environment, it can get busy but you dont have interruption from family, docs, etc and there is just less to do and most importantly NO PHONE CALLS. Night shift all the way.
Yes, absolutely true because I’ve been there working these day/night shifts.
awesome vid man, I applied to an RN program and your video was really insightful. I hope I get in!
I did nights on and off and have now sworn if its within my control I'll never do a night shift again!!! i put on so many weight eating at odd hours (pizza, pancakes with bacon and eggs u name it lol) and i had no social life cos while people were out. I was either sleeping or getting ready to go to work!!! That said night colleagues are just more fun and work better as a team!!!
Haha OMG its crazzzzzzy RITE!!! I started on nights and now I am on days too. It is insane how much work actually has to be done! So proud of you, you are doing so well =)
I am in hospital right now in odessa tx.been here 5 days and today well at night shift they are so loud can here them playing and laughing really loud.keep waking me up. Day shift is when I am going to have to sleep I guess.
Yo Renee!!! Days is a complete change from Nights but I love it either way because we are helping these sick patients to recuperate, heal and be independent again!!! Gotta love a Male Nurse...lol
Thank you for this video! I start working at a hospital in Miami soon. Day shift I'm ready for the craziness lol
Oh my gosh! Wow! Thank you for helping me get an idea of how to delegate and how to prioritize what to do when patients are choking for a G tube feeding, want to go AMA, etc.
I have worked both shifts in my nursing career. It depends in which setting you are working in. I have worked psych and most recently a dementia unit. These people don't sleep. Ever.
Not to mention most people begin to decline healthwise at night. We also have more deaths in most settings on nights.
Most of the time I spend my first two hours of my shift finishing what day shift left behind or were too lazy to do. (I know cause I have worked days as well.... we are all guilty of "oh just leave it for midnights")
I also have to do assessments from every patient that has been acutely ill during the day shift. I also have had to obtain orders on nights..
People also "Sundown"... if you don't know what this is, look it up. Family members are also present around the clock. And because people die more on nights, I am the one who has to call to tell them their loved one is dead.
In the settings I have worked in, we are responsible for setting up what days does. Doctors day, checking in weekly meds and ensuring one by one is rights, along with orders.. which most of the time they don't match up, so you are forced to call doctors in the middle of the night, or the pharmacy. And we have no management to back us up at all. We are responsible for staffing and replacing people, all the while doing what was mentioned above. I also have 70 people to medicate. And I am the working supervisor of 10+ staff.
Either way, both shifts are hard. The only difference is, is I do it on no sleep.
Great Channel, so much great inside information for new nurses or people wanting to learn more about nursing. Keep it up.
I work night shift in long term care as an RPN. My routine is actually quite busy on some nights. Every night is different. Some nights I get all my stuff done in a couple hours and between first rounds where I help my PSW with changes and second rounds it can be quiet. Most of my work does not involve giving meds. On my unit I literally have 5 pills to give in the morning plus any PRN lol. I do things like checking water temperatures, fridge temperatures, residents hydration status and if I need to initiate hydration protocols, auditing narcotic count book to make sure people sign their meds, ordering and receiving meds, processing MD orders, looking to see who needs a laxative or not, care planning, assessing residents if needed, checking all the rooms to make sure all my residents are in bed sleeping, charting, answering call bells. Night shift is the least busy shift but most of our residents have dementia and thats when they have the most trouble. We also only 6-8 staff in the building. Listening to your day shift story, not sure I could do it in a hospital setting. I do want to work in the hospital though lol. As an RPN I can only work on units with stable patients.
I agree day shift is INSANELY busy. You don't even get to sit down, I've had family members follow me to the restroom, try to enter the nrsg station, fall risks off the chain not to mention PRNs for pain, nausea, PCA pumps, accu checks, admits and d/cs like crazy! but i wouldn't change to night shift, at the end of the day I feel a sense of accomplishment, the time FLIES by and you get to enjoy actual human interaction!!
Being a nurse sounds extremely hard.
Extremely Hard
Harder than construction that's for sure!
I literally subscribed and followed u in every social media outlet.. twitter, IG, TH-cam next up fb.. gotta find u lol.. fellow student nurse here and currently an EMT for 8yrs now. Love ur channel!
Excellent Video! And inspiration I will be starting nursing school soon. I already have my MBA in HealthCare Administration, Master of Science in Health Education, and will have my RN in about two years. I will be Top Billie! I love it!
Ayyye turn up with that 2 chains in the background! 😂 but very helpful video thank u so much for this!
Thank you! I'm in orientation now (so glad for a job) and I starts nights soon. comparing and contrasting the shifts was helpful.
Thanks, i've been kinda going back and forth on which shift I should start my first nursing job on. I think i'll stick with night shift. The only thing is that I don't know how to go back to a regular sleep schedule for the entire week.
Night shift has it's own drawbacks when you are new to nursing. ( There are less opportunities to see and assist in procedures for example.)
Which ever shift you choose, identify with a more experienced nurse who will be willing to mentor you during the first few months following the end of your probationary period. Good luck to you in your new career..
+imabirdnerd Thanls! Sorry for the late response. I actually had to start out on day shift and then switch to night shift. Night shift is killing me physically and emotionally. Can't wait to go back to days
Yep that sounds about right!
I was a day shift nurse for 3 years. I worked in nursing homes where I had 25-30 patients every day. Day shift is hard, you run all day, but! The day passes much more quickly. You go to chart, do orders, call pharmacy, and you look up and it's 3. I have found the few times I've worked nights the shift passes much more slowly.
Amazing man, great video :) In nursing school we are only doing days but I am so exited to check out nights
This is so awesome; I couldn't stop laughing because it's so true. I work in a Medical Stroke/Oncology Unit during the day, and you pretty much described my typical day, and honestly, that sounded like a "good" day. Hahaha thanks for posting!
Don't forget to mention the adls and bathing,changing briefs and feeding.
You're just the best:) thanks man!
I did nights on my practicum as a graduating nurse and am now working days as an RN. So with a little experience on both sides of the fence, I have to say: days are stupid crazy and difficult. But you will gain so much experience as a day shifter because it's a sink or swim environment. You either succeed or quit. Nights are a different kind of crazy because the night staff has less support.
Nights is the only reason i can survive as a nurse.
So true, it's even hectic on a day shift in a psychiatric hospital! Patient's wanting to leave, AMA, just after they've signed a 3 day, its just as busy.
Nursing sounds so exciting! I'm in the process of taking my pre-reqs and finishing my Bachelor's degree before doing an accelerated BSN program.
yay! You finally uploaded a new video!
I work nights in a very busy er where 4-5hour waits is the norm when I get in at 7p. We are talking crazy busy. ED transport leaves at 11 pm and we will have maybe 1 tech to 3 nurses. So crazy as it may feel making sure you "x ray tech gets your patient to x ray." On nights I'm the one pushing them to there testing. I also have to get admission orders from Drs at 2 am. This means I better know exactly what I need the Dr to know about the case and what orders I need him to hive me because at 2 am he isn't looking at the chart to check lab values and vital sign trends. At 2 am you have to grab some of these drs by the hand and outline the entire case in about 5 Minutes because otherwise he'll be snoring on the other end of the phone. There is no support staff at night. If something needed to get done in the middle of the night it's all nursing staff that had to do it. there's no physical therapy no transport no phlebotomy no dietary no pre-op holding no distribution nothing. There may seem like more movement with the patients during the days but there is a whole lot more people to move them.
+Nicholas Meccia ABSOLUTELY! Night shifts are NOT as "easy" as many day shift nurses SEEM to "THINK!" hehe Thanks for your input!
but keep in mind that noc shift is always understaffed. Yes, it might appear like it's going good, but night shift is working without the help of another CNA, RN, Unit Secretary and support staff...all while doing this with limited supplies.
Rory Oconnor oh come on its fun being a nursa cna and central supply. All for one wage.
I don't know if it's just my floor, but I work nights and I rarely sit down. usually more than half our patients have sundowners or ciwa. it is nuts! the nighttime is when the crazy stuff comes alive. can't tell how many people we've had to restrain or how many times I've been punched. lol.
Great Video NurseMendoza!
They both sound hectic... Like you said u have to have the energy no matter what. I think I would want to work as night shirt because of my kids.. Thanks for sharing your insights
Mendozzzaaaa!! Good to see ya bruh bruh :-) I definitely prefer days over nights! I like the craziness of days! Great video!
I work at night and have been on nights for a year wouldnt change it for the world I could work days because i like to stay busy but there is so much that goes on sometimes on my floor during the day that makes it a bit overwhelming by the way love your channel
While I'm not a nurse I've worked 4:30pm to 1 am and also 5am to 1:30 pm there is a huge difference in interaction with people and what you can get done . I've found i rather focus on my work and not people . I am curious about the health effects on night shift workers though .
Still great information even for today. ❤❤
I'm a CNA thinking about going for RN and I can say I worked all shifts in a LTC facility the nurses sit on their asses and chart all day, the CNA's do most of the work and if they can't handle it or if it's serious a Nurse will come (Most likely it's the LPN first) I've seen nurses work very hard like you said you do, but you deff have lazy one's who look down on other people. I rather be busy than bored at work because like you said it's goes by fast! Stay Blessed
Work in an inner city ER/Level 1 Trauma center at night if you want to talk about busy
Very true! I work in an ER down in Miami, FL during night shift. We earn every cent of that shift differential. lol
Wow! Very insightful!!!
Omg I hate night shift!!! My job is an hour away. I'm getting dressed by 8p leave by 9p work at10p-6a home by 7a eat then asleep by 8a sleep until 2p or 3p if I'm lucky studying for a couple hours and nap from 5-8p then do it all again I hate it
I've always wondered why night nurses are offered a shift differential when day nurses experience so much. When I become a nurse, I definitely want to work the day shift.
Haha day shift busy as heck but atleast I get to go home earlier and sleep at night. Night duty extra pay though that's the plus side
Nurse Mendoza, I am disabled after being an RN for 17 years.
During that time I only worked with a "Male Nurse" a couple of times. Unfortunately neither of these gentlemen did anything they could get out of, no matter how much I tried to impress upon them how important to pull their own weight. We all needed advice and help from each other in order to take care of the patients entrusted to us. I never understood how you could ask a fellow nurse for help, such as starting a difficult IV, getting a patient to go to surgery, etc. only to find him sitting in my office reading a sci-fi book once I had finished taking care of his patient.
This kind of behavior was tolerated, because the hospital
"needed male nurses on staff"
????What????
Busy hospital units need GOOD employees, including nurses that respect and help their coworkers regardless of what sex those caregivers happen to be.
I'm really very sorry that I didn't get the opportunity to work with more (and better) male nurses.
Remember that you represent your race, sex, etc. as you carry out your career. People tend to group you together with less committed persons of what you represent. Surprise them by doing your work with the attitude that every patient's care is effected if and when other nurses leave their patients to tend to yours.
imabirdnerd sounds like you are more upset with the hospital for not hiring good "people" vs the need for "male nurses". I know lazy nurses, both male and female. Be careful how you word things because you come across very angry with men. If this is the case for you, it sounds like you may have bigger issues than "male nurses".
I completely agree with you, day shift you have to deal with discharges, rounding physicans the ass relatives who are bugging you and asking you to bring this and that.
will be cool to know whats the difference with an OR nurse. thanks so much for the video!!
You're attractive. Also, definitely solidified my choice for days! :) Subscribing and following everywhere!
Well I don't know about the Bay Area, but here in Texas (Houston), there are TONS and TONS of job offerings for new graduates. You can usually go to a hospital's website and check out their job openings. Usually they'll tell you if they accept new grads for the position and chances are, you'll find a lot of openings. There isn't a 100% chance that there will be jobs by the time you graduate, but if there are a lot now, you can pretty much count on jobs in the future as well.
I'm a Corrections nurse. It's funny to hear people talking about 45 meds as being a lot. I have roughly 400 people on my med pass, takes me about an hour and a half to do.
XxORIFxX Dude, it is literally impossible to have 400 people to give meds to. I will not even address the part where you were a superman and completed your medpass in less than 2 hrs🤔🙄
#timemanagement
Damn EVERYTHING sounds crazy, I'm getting into the nursing program soon I'm still not even sure if it's really for me because it gets me nervous the thought of peoples lives in your hands or messing up.
Sorry to say this but nursing isn't for you. If you even think twice if nursing is for you or not, it isn't. Nursing school is just the beginning of your stress and anxiety, it gets worst when you start working especially your first few months as a nurse. Hopefully it's not too late to change your major.
oh boy...that was exhausting just listening to.. thanks
I agree! I work the night shift...and its crazy easy compared to days! Day shift is a damn ZOO!!
No doubt, I love nights!! :)
I work 2 weeks of days, then two weeks of nights..then the schedule repeats. Night shift is can be so much more brutal then explained here.
I've always wondered how people on night shift would adjust to sleeping patterns. Just seeing if you would describe how you managed your sleep routine throughout the week, and if you worked 3 days back to back?
USA seem's so different. I'm in first year, only done 2 nights but I prefer them as I found I learnt more, had more time to talk to the nurses ect. But in UK we don't have the option of doing 6 months of nights, I think you have to do 50% days 50% nights each month so you could be doing 3 days then have like a day or 2 off the do 2 nights, have a days off then do 4 days then have 2 days off and you back on 3 nights. It's crazy, NHS is crazy! I wish it was like USA!
I work in a facility that the nurses perform the phlebotomy, there is NO backup for labs. I cannot imagine all the stats ordered throughout the day! I have to meet a lot of am lab work time management. But no I don't EVER want to be dayshift at my current faciility
Days have someone to draw labs, to do finger sticks, to help with admits and discharges, to transport to radiology, to answer call bells, to assist with random patient needs, to strip and clean rooms after discharge, to build the hard chart, to gather vitals, to help prep rooms for an admit, to perform EKGs, etc... now this may not be true of every facility. I often have 5 nurses for night and the next morning 12 plus nurses are coming in?
Nursing...you gotta love it! :O)
Much truth here assuming you're not speaking of ED, i.e. inpatient floors. ED is much tougher overnight vs. days. Tougher/hectic = floors, days. ED, nights. Way more of the frequent fliers, seekers, traumas, SI, HI, and just pure crazy people at night in the ED than day shift.
So weird watching this. Exactly what its like over here! Fellow UK murse!
GREAT VIDEO
I've been a nightshift nurse for the last 3 years. Your explanation of what a night is like is so inaccurate!! #patientsdontsleep #Q4vitalsigns #q6bloodsugarchecksfortubefeeds #midnightmeds #twoAMmeds #justtonameafew
What about patients being sweethearts , alert , oriented and all but get terrible sundowns at night huh.!! Code greys , haldol, ativan!! Whatever works ... Then Doctors going off on you for calling them at the middle of the night... But yes, we keep getting admissions!!
Been doing NOCS for 8 years, but I think I am ready for a change to Days. What kind of unit do you work on?
Do you work 8, 10, or 12 hour shifts?
Hi Mendoza, GREAT video! I am planning to go for an accelerated nursing program. Im just wondering if you had any patient care experiences before you apply to nursing school? How did you get those experiences? Thanks alot!! :)
You should try the PICU.... I was there three months and left. CHAOTIC!!!!!
I find preventative measures make my life easier as a medsurge nurse. Who you see first and what to anticipate and prevent to make my life or that of patient better. In nursing you have to work smarter not harder. Otherwise you end up taking care of problems you could have prevented. In that day you speak of when you reflected what could you have prevented?
im struggling HARD with the second half of medsurg... tips??? i know you made a video already, but how did you overcome medsurg ??
I work nights as Cna for 17years ur so right lol
Lol man you made me scared and I'm pre nursing now lol, I think I love to be busy
I find that day shift and night shift are TOTALLY different and not really at all comparable. At night it is just me with 4-5 patients, no one from lab, or pharmacy, only a night doc who rarely wants to order anything for fear of angering the "real/ team" docs, no student nurses, no CNAs, just me (an LPN) with 4-5 and my RN with 4-5 and since we practice primary nursing... mine are truly mine unless I need a med pushed. I do HS and AM (AC) finger sticks, lab draws, trips to xray, EKGs, etc....
I'm in a new-to-acute program and it is day shift. How does one have time to chart?!😂
That's the kind of craziness that may take place in the ER. Med-surg is very different.
Mendoza, What are your thoughts on the nursing shortages?