The Bologna Blog

Nurse's Night life

Wow, what a night! Night life at the hospital is not the quiet library-like atmosphere that people would have you believe it is. People truly do not sleep through the night. I have had patients request several items and tell me when I'm done that I can go ahead and go back to sleep. I will dispel this myth here and now! Night shift nurses do not sleep. They do not pay me to sleep,it is not allowed. In between the serving of sandwiches, sodas, and jello for 2 a.m. snacks there is a bustle of medical activity happening that the other patients may not see. I personally transported 2 people to MRI and Xray for testing in the middle of the night and because their health was precarious I, as the nurse, had to remain with the patient. We had a code and an almost code. For some odd reason they decided to do 2 fire drills for which we had to respond. Three of our patients were what we call "sundowners " and required extra attention to maintain their safety. Our water and ice machine shot craps so the distance to obtain the aforementioned items was twice as great. I wish I would have had my pedometer to count the steps traveled. Admissions did not stop. IV catheters were going bad or being pulled out every time we turned around. The teamwork among the five nurses was phenomenal. When all was said and done, I felt good about all of the things I accomplished and the care I provided, but I am whooped. So my sleep awaits.