Do night shift nurses try there best

do you think night nurses try their best to maintain a happy and clean ward please post here what you think and why
Quote from melz34do you think night nurses try their best to maintain a happy and clean ward please post here what you think and why

Quote from Equinox_93I think that everyone should and most often *does* do their best and I would LIKE to see nurses stop blaming other shifts for being overworked, underpaid and underappreciated. EVERY shift is going to have a heavy workload- and sometimes things aren't going to get done. That's nursing, folks... I'd like to see a team effort in nursing, not this childish, petty "let's rag on the other shift" crap that I see so often portrayed. MHO.

I think nowadays with the nursing shortage and sicker patients, ALL nurses work!!!

Hate to disagree with the majority. I currently work 12 hour days. What I have observed when I have picked up a night, (and I have worked all shifts), on my unit the night shift gets report, settles in about 8:30 eating the buffet they have brought in, they have tea at midnight, go on the computer for several hours and if I happen to be the one up actually taking care of my patients I think they deem me incompetent. Coming on shift at 7am, I have found rooms a mess, just this past Friday three half filled cups of water at one bedside, I guess it would take too much to dump them in between computer games. When I asked ahead of time if one of them could get my pre-op freshened up before her 7am OR call, the night shift nurse told me she "forgot." I feel I work with a lot of "L-A-B's" my term meaning lazy ass *******. Sorry, I just get disheartened when the patient or family tells me how poorly they were treated by the night staff. God forbid someone needs some sympathy when their loved one is dying and it is the night shifts "down time."

no, i usually sit in the breakroom all night with my feet on the table and eat bon bons while throwing the wrappers on the floor for the day shift to clean up. i have worked both day shift and night shift as a nurse. i honestly think that they are both equally busy and hard, but that nights is at a disadvantage... we always are totally strapped for staff. when i worked days, i was amazed at how many people ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner! and i felt like I was in the way-- besides families, there are staff everywhere--nurse managers, doctors, residents, techs, respiratory, PT, OT, ST, dietary, housekeeping, unit secretaries....at night on my floor, we have a handful of nurses, like two techs if we're lucky, and grouchy tired interns to wake up at 3am.

I fully realize each shift has its challenges I have worked at the same hospital for 25 years. When I was on nights we had 3 nurses, no tech, no secretary. Now they have four nurses and a tech. We have 5 nurses, a tech and a secretary. Every shift can have their moments of being straight out when things don't get done. But when it is consistent behavior from a particular group, then it is a problem. I just cannot understand nurses that can put socializing before patient care. I am not talking about all night nurses, just the ones I have had the displeasure in following.

Quote from gh116Hate to disagree with the majority. I currently work 12 hour days. What I have observed when I have picked up a night, (and I have worked all shifts), on my unit the night shift gets report, settles in about 8:30 eating the buffet they have brought in, they have tea at midnight, go on the computer for several hours and if I happen to be the one up actually taking care of my patients I think they deem me incompetent. Coming on shift at 7am, I have found rooms a mess, just this past Friday three half filled cups of water at one bedside, I guess it would take too much to dump them in between computer games. When I asked ahead of time if one of them could get my pre-op freshened up before her 7am OR call, the night shift nurse told me she "forgot." I feel I work with a lot of "L-A-B's" my term meaning lazy a** b******. Sorry, I just get disheartened when the patient or family tells me how poorly they were treated by the night staff. God forbid someone needs some sympathy when their loved one is dying and it is the night shifts "down time."

Quote from gh116Hate to disagree with the majority. I currently work 12 hour days. What I have observed when I have picked up a night, (and I have worked all shifts), on my unit the night shift gets report, settles in about 8:30 eating the buffet they have brought in, they have tea at midnight, go on the computer for several hours and if I happen to be the one up actually taking care of my patients I think they deem me incompetent. Coming on shift at 7am, I have found rooms a mess, just this past Friday three half filled cups of water at one bedside, I guess it would take too much to dump them in between computer games. When I asked ahead of time if one of them could get my pre-op freshened up before her 7am OR call, the night shift nurse told me she "forgot." I feel I work with a lot of "L-A-B's" my term meaning lazy ass *******. Sorry, I just get disheartened when the patient or family tells me how poorly they were treated by the night staff. God forbid someone needs some sympathy when their loved one is dying and it is the night shifts "down time."

When my stable but sick patient who I have been told has been ringing all day because of pain, falls asleep at 2130 and is comfortable...you bet I'm not going to go in there at 0300h to clean the empty glasses off of his table and scrub the floors. Patient care includes sleep, and far be it for me to disturb him so his table is clean when the day shift comes on.

Jessy RN, wished I worked there. It sounds ideal. Our unit has gone through a lot of changes and several managers and I think that can contribute greatly to the problem. I wish I could bring about change for the better but I work with some hard core nurses. Not to pat myself on the back but when I did nights I washed at least one of my ventilated patients, left the rooms neat and orderly, hung an extra IV bag when I knew the one hanging was going empty and would need changing at change of shift, picked up the work area, emptied over-flowing trash even though "it is not my job."

Quote from gh116Jessy RN, wished I worked there. It sounds ideal. Our unit has gone through a lot of changes and several managers and I think that can contribute greatly to the problem. I wish I could bring about change for the better but I work with some hard core nurses. Not to pat myself on the back but when I did nights I washed at least one of my ventilated patients, left the rooms neat and orderly, hung an extra IV bag when I knew the one hanging was going empty and would need changing at change of shift, picked up the work area, emptied over-flowing trash even though "it is not my job."

I must have been a better night nurse than I thought, there were many a patient of mine that felt they slept all night and I was still able to be quiet enough in a room to pick up a little. I am not talking scrubbing floors and at some point whether a patient sleeps or not you have to do some sort of assessment, whether it be at HS or around 6am meds, what's wrong with making a room neat?