my first double.

When working at a place that houses sick people, it is a 24-7 operation, and since you can never predict when the "busy" season will be staffing (I imagine can be a bit of a challenge). Good thing for me that's not my job and I just show up when I am told, work hard, do the best that I can for my patients and myself.

Last night was one of those nights where the hospital census was super duper high for our hospital (over 300 people?) just our campus alone, and our unit was at FULL capacity. So that means the night shift needed extra help. I volunteered for a "deal" so I doubled yesterday so I didn't have to come back this evening and squeeze in a few extra days off. Good thing as soon as found out I quickly called Jimmy John's and ordered a second meal of the day and the extra time was actually kinda a welcomed breath of fresh air. I felt like I actually got to be present with my patients, see problems resolve, and progress made.

I have had way more sleep this week than on an average week, partially due to my friends working more this week, my boy friend being out of town, and other circumstances so I felt that I could handle taking on the extra shift. Which actually I pleasantly felt pretty good after....which is quite ironic because I was commenting on Monday morning when I had to "double-back" where I got off at 11:30 and back at work at 8am (which I've decided is WAY worse than doubling), I said I would never double. Apparently I spoke too soon, and I think I will like the noticeable difference in my pay check next time.

For those who work funny jobs like me, know yourself, know your limits, and then sometimes stretch them...you may surprise yourself.  

overnight.

 

 Picture taken right before the start of my first evening shift on my own this last Friday, 

coffee in hand of course!

Another week of overnights starts tonight! That means I arrive at work around 10:45pm and leave around 8am (if I'm on schedule). This is the second set of shifts where I am working overnights and we'll see how I fair at preparing to switching my biological clock from being up all day, to up all night.

First, this is not an official post on how to prepare for a night shift. HOWEVER, these are things that I have learned so far about myself. Also, I am very fortunate that right now during this time of my life I have no responsibilities other than myself, no babies, no second jobs (that I have to work), no school or homework, no house (I still am living at my parents house), and alongside that I don't have to do my own grocery shopping. So all of these things make switching on rotating evening, and NOC shifts that much easier.

Things I do to help prepare that work really well:
1) Night before my first night shift, stay up until at least 3am...I do laundry, clean my room, organize my calendar for the week, watch Netflix, all the lights in my room, and usually candles are also lit so my body knows to stay awake.

2) I do not get out of bed until at least noon on the first day, if I wake up, I force myself to fall back asleep,...who can complain right, force myself to be lazy all day?!

3) I do not eat any major meal before 1pm (ideally 2 or 3 is best), not only is it difficult to switch sleeping it is difficult to switch eating, if you can switch both it works that much better for me! Along with this I do not eat my "lunch" before 8pm at night. Leaving me with one more "meal" during my shift.

4) I allow myself 1 source of caffeine on my way into the shift, for me its usually coffee, for the first shift of a set of nights, I treat myself to an espresso drink from my favorite coffee shop. I bring a "back-up" source of coffee just in case I need it, but so far I haven't, with the priority being that when I get home from my shift I need to sleep, a full-"nights" sleep.


That's all I got for now. My first 2 shifts riding solo as a nurse have been pretty uneventful, and for me and my work that's all you can hope for! So here's for my first set of nights on my own, and successfully staying awake.

:)

no more day shifts.

photo from the middle of the night with all my lights on to keep me awake.

no more day shifts for this girl, my orientation is quickly coming to an end and soon i'll be on my own.

my official start date was monday, january 6, 2014. my first day on the unit in scrubs was monday, january 13th, 2014. which totals roughly 5 weeks of orientation shifts. i officially have 6 more shifts remaining guaranteed, and 2 next week where i will either orient or be on my own.

the funny thing about nursing, and any job that works with people for that matter is that i will never know everything. i will continue to learn and grow into a more confident, independent nurse, but at the end of the day i will never know everything. i was talking to some of the other nurses on the unit on whether or not i fell "ready" to be on my own, and i think it's such a funny thing to ask. part of me is enjoying the luxury of having 1 patient load for 2 nurses and could enjoy this forever (unrealistic i know), but the other part is ready to be my own nurse without people looking over my shoulder and double-checking everything i do. what i told the other nurses was that orientation is good for a couple things; one, getting to know the unit and the system of where you work, each hospital, each unit lead, each doctor is going to have expectations that orientation guides you through on how to navigate the culture and system of the workplace culture. two, it was a great refresher because for me i hadn't been in a hospital since may of 2013 and reminding myself how to do even the little things was good. as for am i ready? well, yes, i think, but only because i know i'm never going to know how to do everything, and two i only will really remember how to do things once i start really doing them on my own without prompting. i also am looking forward to working alongside skilled nurses and i'll never be alone. i think the biggest asset i bring into a new job is my ability and willingness to problem solve and figure out solutions, but knowing my limits and when to ask questions. i like being independent and being self-sufficient. i like the relationship i can build with my patients when i'm the only nurse they have for the day.

so selfishly i am excited to start working on my own to challenge myself and really start to begin my career as an independent nurse. i also look forward to proving myself to my boss, co-workers, and peers that it was a good choice they hired me and that i am a qualified individual for the position.

what i enjoyed about the day shift:
- schedule
- sleeping at night when it's dark out
- availability of resources & doctors
- surrounded by staff that have been nurses for a long time and have a wealth of knowledge

what i look forward to about the night shift:
- slower pace
- quiet of the hospital
- the younger nurses i'll work with that are more similar to my age
- proving to myself i can do it


last night i worked 3pm - 11:30pm and got home around midnight. i challenged myself to stay awake until 3:15am by doing laundry, eating a big meal when i got home, cleaning the kitchen. i then fell asleep by 3:30am and slept until noon. I then ate a large breakfast. my plan is to take 1 more nap before i leave and aim for a late dinner (8 or 9). Then I'll bring a smaller meal for during my shift.

i am no expert in switching my sleep schedule, and for people that know me i need a minimum of 7 hours of sleep a night, and most nights my lights are out and technology turned off by 10pm every night. i keep telling myself it is just a matter of routine and figuring out the best time to go to bed and sticking to it. i have a small tickle in my throat and a potential of a cold coming on; so that's not good going into my week of overnight shift. we'll see how it goes.

here's to all things new again, learning, and stretching my limits!