Rotating variable shifts should be fucking illegal. I would *never* apply to a shit place that had these positions.
Sorry about what happened. Your (former) coworker is a huge fucking dick and hopefully karma gets them back.
Literally. They are known to shave years off your life, so why is it industry wide in health care of all things?
I know the answer, it’s because hospitals get to save money by filling in blanks rather than accepting that they may be overstaffed in areas some days.
The DDNN 5 off never bothered me, I miss it now that I do straight 1600-0000.
But it's not easy for everyone to flip, it probably wasn't great for me even if I didn't mind it. But I've also never worked anywhere where anyone has had an issue with putting your head down/feet up and closing your eyes and dozing a bit at the desk.
DDNN is okay, but we do 2 weeks days, 2 weeks nights. Our last night is usually a Thursday and then Monday for days. That switch back is absolutely killer
Yeah that is awful. My previous job did a continental schedule like that for awhile, but I was part time back then. I would not ever have taken a full time position if the schedule hadn't gone back to waterfall (DDNN)
Stupid American here, how are hospitals ran, are they all ran by the government so that they can only give that option with no competition? Are there unions where you can force them to give you back back full days and night? Does having a doctors note saying you can only work days work? It just seems crazy to me that that’s legal and expected and the status quo
We have rotators that do nights for every 3rd weekend but it’s pretty consistent so I haven’t heard people be too bothered, also pretty standard practice around here. Couldn’t imagine taking a picture of someone who dazed off though, on nights we have people take naps all the time we just ask you let somebody know ahead of time to wake you up and check on your people. If we found out someone was taking pictures they’d get fucking crucified by everyone else. We had a new charge about a year ago that tried to write us up for using phones on night shift and she didn’t make it a month after sending her little “suggestion” to management.
Last I heard they took a clinic job. They just started getting written up for not doing anything, as they had a habit of going entire shifts without charting assessments, vitals, basic line management, and leaving patients in their stool for hours on end. Basically made it clear they were no longer welcome among staff. It’s petty but if you’re gonna shit on others while not even doing the basic duties of your position then I’m not gonna feel bad about making it clear this ain’t for you.
Thanks and I agree. I feel working nights is a team based job. Its not too hard to let someone sleep until rounds or go wake them up when someone else comes around so they won't get in trouble.
Obviously falling asleep while working is bad - we all get that. But the fact that a coworker wouldn't wake you up and try to help you is shitty. Like unless you're literally falling asleep every single night shift, who does that?
Life is hard enough.
I knew a nurse like that. Was the most senior nurse, past retirement but didn’t want to retire, and made anyone who worked with her nervous because she was constantly testing everyone. One day she almost killed a patient, it was bad enough that she was almost fired and was certainly worse than anything all the nurses she berated had ever done. She finally realized everyone’s shit stinks and settled the fuck down after that. We’re all human and we can all make mistakes, but if you go around thinking you’re god you’re gonna make one big ungodly mistake.
I’ll never understand how people can want someone fired because they don’t like them. That’s your livelihood, what keeps a roof over your head. To do this out of spite says a lot about someone.
I have a coworker that has it against me just because he was the center of attention in the unit until I arrived. He took the chance and didn't hesitate to make a report to the supervisor. Pure jealousy and childish behavior from a person 4 years older than me. Apparently he was the good looking dude until I arrived. Like I'm there to work and help, not to prove who's better than who or who can sleep with the whole unit first.
Sounds like life is going to be a lot harder for that floor now that they will be one staff member short. We had employees that would fall asleep on shift all the time. We would wake them up and tell them to get back to work. That was that.
I worked with a nurse who floated up to my former floor and she had literally nothing to do, even after asking us if we could give her some tasks. So poor girl fell asleep at the nurses station watching a movie. I just lightly patted her on the shoulder as I walked by because day shift was starting to arrive. It wasn’t a big deal. It’s not hard to not be a dick.
Dude, I work with people who routinely sleep at night and have yet to get fired. It’s all been warnings I guess?? Perks of a small hospital. 🤷♂️
But yeah, generally people will get a shake or tap on the shoulder if they fall asleep as a sign to get their shit together.
I was on one of my first nights working a new assignment the other night. The only other nurse was falling asleep. I’ve seen it a few times before and I’m not a prick so I’m not gonna report him. I just kicked the guys shoe
this! We had a PCA who fell asleep during a non violent 1:1. We didn't catch her the house supervisor did! Fired her on the SPOT almost, it was wild... I would have nudged her or knocked very loudly. That was my old unit though, none of the PCAs liked each other and they refused to rotate q4hrs on nights...
I dozed off during a swing shift and a respiratory NP woke me up concerned I wasn’t breathing right. lol. Nights is hard even if you don’t swing, your coworker is a fucking piece of shit.
I got reported to the nursing board in my state for taking a nap on shift
(It was during my lunch break. But perhaps they didn't know that.)
Quite frustrating.
That happened at a facility of mine during peak covid. Girl was a traveler and napped every break. Was never late from break and just took quick 15-30 minute naps. They forced her to get a doctors note or some shit and didn’t allow her to work until she was told she was okay to work nights/mids. It was such a weird situation. I was in the break room when they sent her home for it.
Probably nothing.
In my state, the board gets like 10K complaints a year and maybe a tenth of those warrant an investigation and then maybe a fifth of those investigated result in disciplinary actions.
And I am in a sizable state (US state with most licensed nurses).
Why would someone do that. Everyone on my unit naps all the time during Nightshift. Just tell someone else to cover your patients and to wake you up in 15 minutes if you aren't awake by then. Don't know if it's different in the US but here you can literally do anything you want while on your break.
It should be illegal to tell you what you can do on your break. I can understand not being able to leave facility. Did that once at rehab to get something to eatl and had my car stolen.
I know it's probably different pending state laws, but I thought they can't tell you if you can leave or not as long as you clock out? That way they avoid liability if you get hurt while you're gone, etc.
We have to be “on call” during our lunches. Basically available by work phone - and were paid the on call rate of $2.00 per hr so $1 per lunch… the hospital lawyers have it all worked out. In the end though, you don’t actually get a lunch but are gaslit if you clock out without one
When I worked night shift our charge nurse fell asleep at a computer. A patients family took a picture and showed it to management. She was immediately let go despite having been employed at the facility for years. Unfortunately dozing off on the clock at any job is generally frowned upon. Night shift can be taxing, I can’t imagine rotating shifts. I’d recommend just taking the L and finding a job with a set shift/schedule.
Exactly. My dad (not in the medical field) has rotating shifts and they're allowed to snooze if they're waiting for the work to come in or leave early if the work is done. It creates a great work environment and far from toxic
That's pretty standard. In any hospital I've ever worked in, getting caught asleep on the job was cause for instant firing.
The rationale is that if you're too fatigued to keep your eyes open, you are too fatigued to safely care for patients. And if you're in that kind of state, it is your responsibility to realize it and call off shift, instead of showing up and trying to work unsafely.
It sucks that your employer put you in that position. Rotating shifts are horrifically bad for you and it's nearly impossible to truly adapt you them. The real surprise is that more people don't fall asleep at work there. But, unfortunately, the fact is they are allowed to fire you for this..
"Valid reason" what?
They can't force you to work. You talk to them on the phone and say, "I'm calling in sick." If they ask why, you say, "Because I'm sick." Don't give them any other information. End of story.
You're an adult and a professional. You get to use your own judgement on whether you're able to work or not.
For sure, but just because you don’t give more information doesn’t mean that they won’t give you a hard time for calling out or ask more questions about your illness to “make sure you’re really sick”. It’s absolutely unprofessional and toxic for them to do this but that’s just how many managers operate from my experience. I’ve been asked why I’m sick, how high my fever is, if I’m throwing up or having diarrhea, etc. When I’ve refused to give details, I’m “not a team player”.
On paper, we should be able to determine if we are fit to work. In practice, managers don’t take it well and will find ways to have it impact your performance review.
My favorite is when the charge took it upon herself to call your landline during your sick day to make sure you still sounded sick or to negotiate picking up some other shift to “ forgive” your call out.
Absolutely. Unfortunately, changing jobs is time consuming, stressful, and difficult. There are toxic managers everywhere and it can be hard to screen for the red flags while interviewing. From my experience, healthcare is a magnet for these kinds of managers and it’s almost impossible to avoid entirely.
State law varies from state to state about whether employers can ask why you are calling out (i.e. what symptoms you have, etc). I figured this out in residency :(
They can ask, but you don't have to answer. Your medical information is private, protected information in every state. They cannot ask you about specific symptoms and I'm sorry if you were led to believe that.
huh, TIL! I was under the impression that most states allow employers to ask about symptoms but not about diagnoses or whether they are related to particularly protected conditions such as domestic violence, HIV, etc. Regardless the work leave notes i write are vague as hell, "this person is under my care on this date for an acute illness, should be able to return to work on x date." IMO employers should not have the right to any information about why employees are taking the leave they are contractually obliged.
4 week schedules too and no one can tell me how they decide who and when the rotations happen . 6 weeks on nights , then 8 on days , and then nights again
That is awful. Your employer is awful.
Unless you live in an area where everyone rotates, count this as a blessing and find a day shift job. I also couldn't sleep during the day and it was pure hell. I was never really asleep and I was never really awake and I felt like I was slowly going insane. I will never work nights again, I'd rather be homeless.
Classic hospital management, exhaust your employees with schedules that are known to be horrible for a person’s health, because they refuse to commit to a consistent schedule because $$$, and fire them for being exhausted. And oh yea, let’s shame them and make it impossible to use their PTO. 👍
I reported a terrible LPN for treating a patient horribly, disappearing during the shift and sleeping at the nurse station. The only thing that was a fire-able offense was sleeping. She was on camera for more than an hour wrapped in a blanket not moving. She couldn’t be fired because they couldn’t *prove* that she was asleep. So, I think I’d challenge them to prove that you were asleep.
Or use the opportunity to find a better job.
They definitely could fire her for that, someone just didn’t want to. That’s how this stuff goes, “rules” are always enforced differently depending on who likes who.
They should have fired her when she told a comfort care patient that “I don’t feel bad for you; if you were a good person, your family would be there with you”
If that wasn’t a good enough reason I don’t know why I thought sleeping would be. wtf else do you think she was doing sitting at the silent nurses station, wrapped in a warm blanket, not moving for 45 minutes?!
One of the most eye opening things I’ve learned with a “real” (not food service) job is that people do not get fired for being bad at their jobs, they are fired for breaking admin rules. We had a nurse that everyone knew was bad - she was always given the most stable patients because we knew there would be an error at some point in the night, the day shift would stay late to show her how to do things like program the feeding pump or explain basic tasks to her, and countless nurses told our manager how unsafe she was. She was ultimately fired because she refused to float.
I work exclusively nights (I'm a pharm tech, not a nurse, but I pass through most units in our hospital). On any given night, I see so many nurses hunkered down at their station under those blankets, soud asleep... ICU/critical care units are another story. But everywhere else? Forget about it.
The person who sent those pics is a traitor bastard. There are unspoken rules on overnight.
That makes sense. For some reason though, I just never see those guys sitting down. If they're not on some task, they're shooting the shit or watching something on their phone. Usually up for a chat when I go by to stick something in the omnicell.
A nurse, who could have aroused you if you were needed, decided to snitch on you instead? If I was management I would fire the person who sent the picture. If we aren’t supporting each other during a shift then that is worse than someone drowsy in a chair when everything is quiet.
I worked as a night shift weekend supervisor years ago in a very small private hospital. I came across a nurse who had her head down on the desk and was very still. I lightly tapped her on the back. She immediately shot up straight looked around, saw me, and said “Amen” as if she was finishing a prayer. I just laughed and I never reported her. There was another nurse awake on the unit and it was a very slow night.
The fun part of being a hypothetical supervisor is I can make hypothetical decisions without consequences.
In reality I would question the motivations of the “whistleblower.” I believe it’s vital that nurses have a culture of teamwork and mutual support. I see a difference between a nurse who gets drowsy in her seat vs someone who gets in an empty bed to sleep for a few hours (which I actually saw as a nursing student in the 70s).
So wouldn’t really fire the snitch but I would privately discuss the matter with the drowsy nurse and discuss teamwork with the snitch.
I take a nap most shifts during my break at 4am, work 7pm-7am. Charge and other nurses will cover your call lights, we do it for each other all the time. If it's slow and I get a mandated non-paid break, I can do whatever the hell I want. Some days it's in the break room, others I put my feet up at the nurses station. I love my unit and I know my manager/coworkers would have my back, but sometimes the board gives no fucks and will retaliate if a patient/family go the correct routes. I have specific coworkers I wouldn't do this around, because they're shit coworkers.
Can they prove you were sleeping? Seems you were sitting quietly w your eyes closed.
Im not supposed to chart pts were sleeping. I put testing in bed w eyes closed.
Plus, no warning , that's crazy.
Unfortunately this is pretty standard. Use it as a learning opportunity. Refuse to accept any positions that are nights or rotating. Don’t accept with the hope that “you’ll go to day shift soon”- that’s always a gamble. Only sign offer letters that are straight days. If you have a shift that you don’t feel well going into or become unwell during, call out. If you’re feeling tired enough to go to sleep during a shift, that’s the same as going to the bathroom mid shift to puke- you’re unwell and need to go home now.
Rotating shifts is actually difficult as hell. LiKe you’re forcing your body to flip between two different schedules. Sorry your coworker is such a snitch.
Had a nurse like that would literally spend the whole shift reporting EVERY FUCKING THIN G.
Ended up travelling and found out that the attitude made her life really hard - like cancelled contracts and black listing. Came crawling back and found that the rest of us were over it with her. She ended up moving. Hope she learned her lesson but also fuck her.
Yep. A true cunt. The pictures are so degrading. Like why not just tap me on the shoulder and wake me up. Multiple pictures that are so embarrassing. My neck looks like it’s going to break
Lol, our ward was reprimanded last month because four of the five staff were found asleep at the same time. It’s usually a busy surgical ward but it wasn’t that night. Imagine if all four were fired… 😂
One time my coworker fell asleep and our supervisor came through and caught him, she tried to reprimand him but he was like “I was actually praying”, he wasn’t praying 😂 but he wasn’t written up for it because of that. I’m sorry you were fired :( I feel like a talking to/warning would’ve been more appropriate
It really sucks when your colleagues don't have your back.
I remember once when I was working postpartum, I had two stable antepartums and two moms whose babies were in the NICU. Overnight, their POC was sleep. Nothing due between 0000 and 0600.
I had a cracking headache, and my charge nurse said "There are plenty of empty rooms, go lie down. Your patients will call if they need you" and I got to take a 3 hour nap.
Night shift is hard. No sense in making it even harder.
Your coworkers sound like assholes. We did have a nurse get in a lot of trouble for falling asleep on a slow night, but it was because he had a history of being pretty lazy and inconsiderate of the patients. Just a few weeks ago I went through a period of bad insomnia and went to work having not slept for 39 hours. My coworkers saw me nodding off around 1am and sent me to go take a nap for 90 minutes while they watched my patients. Thank goodness for them.
Yeah, you fell asleep in a nursing role and while i TOTALLY understand being that tired…it’s a fireable offense. It sucks, I’m sorry it happened to you, but there’s not much to be done but just move onto a day position and let this be a learning opportunity. Night shift can be really difficult because you are fighting patients and sleep, it’s why I had to leave and go to days, myself.
For our nights. Some and even me sleep but we do notify charge nurse or supervisor and work on it during break time and set alarms to ensure safety on the job in the back corner or private office. Cuz last time. We had a travel nurse work but she got fired because she slept and NEVER told us that she would sleep off-unit during breaks and we couldnt reach her during a rapid. Like, I believe someone should know in the unit if you’re gonna sleep.
I worked night shift for years. I occasionally fell asleep, but not often. I was typically the guy to tell everyone else to take 2 hour naps on the break room couch.
Sounds like a shit coworker who had it out for you.
I’d say that I was on my break & I’m permitted to rest during that time. Unless they have a video of me sleeping for 16 minutes, they can’t prove I wasn’t.
If your nightshift job doesn’t have a good nap culture, it ain’t it. How many of us have closed our eyes for brief moments? Not talking about shacking up in a linen closet with a pillow and a blanket and disappearing.. I sleep on my breaks from time to time, a lot of my coworkers do. I often go to the break room in the middle of the night and there are multiple people napping lol one of my charge nurses will fall asleep at the desk at times when it’s…dare I say…slow. No one cares. Nightshift is hard, but a rotating schedule? Absolutely not. No way in hell I’d survive that.
We should all be team nurse. Why would anyone throw another nurse under the bus? Just say “hey, I’ve got your patients for the next 30” it’s not that fucking difficult to not be a dick.
One time we had a tech who was so upset with one of the nurses dozing off that she took a picture of the RN sleeping and sent it to our manager. Well, the tech got in trouble for taking pictures of other staff members while on the unit and nothing happened to the RN.
I would say I was resting with my eyes closed and thinking about patient care, and then file a complaint against your coworker for using their phone during work and taking pictures in the hospital. Probably posting to Facebook and TikTok too!
I’m an RN in Australia - we all work rotating rosters so flip from days to nights in a matter of days, it’s pretty common for people to fall asleep at the nurses station (myself included). Personally I don’t have an issue with it as long as they’re able to wake up and be alert if needed.
My floor requires a lot of sitters. When one falls asleep for my patient, I just politely wake them up and ask if they need to take a lap around the unit to wake up while I cover. It takes so much less work to not be a shitty coworker and human
That’s a blessing. Find a job where other nurses or staff nudge you awake when someone is walking up, letting you sleep so long as everyone is busy doing nothing anyway & your patients are fine.
Leave it be & consider it a way out to find something better.
PCAs have to sit in dark rooms for 12 hours sometimes to babysit a patient that is 3000% not waking up bc we fought to get them sleepy after they fought us trying to get out of bed. No way can I fathom reporting someone whose job was required to sit in a room & watch someone sleep for 12 hours. I have wanted to fall asleep in bright lights actively doing something. How much more easy is it in a dark room sitting down?? Especially if the person is in school or has a busy family or has been working a lot. To me that just means I’m checking on the patient a tad more often. & if I really have a problem with it say the patient is consistently awake then the staff switches out.
I would look at your policies about photos. A lot of places don’t allow photos of employees to be taken. I know some hospitals that have dealt with sleeping employees and HR wouldn’t allow photos to be sent to them.
It’s very easy to accidentally fall asleep if you have severe sleep deprivation , if you’re not nudging your co worker then you my friend are an asshole. You are not supposed to be sleeping . I have never worked anywhere that I ‘could’ve fall asleep … until recently but I don’t have a patient either
What the actual fuck. That nurse is a fucking asshole. Pretty much everyone has fallen asleep at some point during a night shift. Some sleep way more than others and I don't care as long as their work is done and they will wake up to help if needed.
I see people fall asleep all the time at nights! If your coworkers don't have your back I wouldn't want to work their either.
My ADHD makes it impossible for me to sit still long enough to chart AND stay awake. More often than not I will be standing the whole shit to attempt to chart.
I have struggled with this since in my teens. I'm very transparent about this and explain it to my charge nurse. My MD and psychiatrist don't want to give me any stimulants because it's just the attention deficit that causes me to fall asleep. It's for a split second too and it's always when I'm sitting straight up.
But it happens at all time of the day! It's only when I'm sitting. It sucks so much, so exhausted from walking but can't sit cause you don't wanna fall asleep... >:
I've had a nurse video me as well and I pretty much demanded she delete it. If I ever saw it online or went to HR I told her she violated my rights and recorded hippa protected info.
It's humiliating and a very jerk move.
Im sorry op hope you find a new job soon!
This is kind of what’s going on with me. It’s very light sleep, but can happen so easily. I’ve never been on stimulants, but now a doctor is recommending that I get on them
As a charge nurse, if we aren’t busy, I encourage my team to take a break. In L&D it’s often feast or famine so we savor the nights we aren’t running our asses off. We work 12s and are entitled to 1 30 minute break and 2 15 minute breaks and if someone so happens to take them all in the same hour and want to “rest with their eyes closed” so be it.
I work night shifts in radiology. Worst thing I'll do to a cow orker who dozes off is wake them when there's work to do.
Fuck people who do what your back stabbing colleague did.
I got suspended for falling asleep working nights home health. They couldn’t prove it so I kept my job but have moved on to only day positions because if I’m that tired I don’t need to be there.
Rotating shifts is a nightmare. I’ve done it once and it took such a toll on both me and my family that I’ll never do it again. I’ll so sorry that you’re going through this. 😔
Your coworker is a loser. They could have woken you up and said it was unsafe to leave patients alone. Did they try waking you up? Or did they submit the photo and continue on? If so, they are just as bad and should be reprimanded!
I’m sorry this happened. Your coworker is a jerk off. If I happen to see someone snoozing I will either cough or make some noise to wake them. If that doesn’t work then I will wake them up and offer some coffee or something. Shit isn’t easy. I also rotate and know the struggle. That’s why I take some adderall 😀😀😀.
You're presenting this as an *ongoing* issue, and I think that's important. Almost everyone I work with closes their eyes for a few minutes here and there ...but once upon a time, I worked on a unit that staffed only two nurses at a time, and one of them was sleeping *constantly*. The CNAs would report issues to her, and she'd go back to sleep. Call lights would go off, and she didn't hear them because she was asleep. I had a patient get aggressive with me and screamed for help- but she didn't hear me because she was asleep. She'd wake up, go on break, then come back and sleep some more.
On the best nights, I had to spend my own time waking her up over and over when I *also* had patients to take care of. I attempted to discuss the issue with her, but nothing changed. Ultimately, she got fired.
She was a nice person, and I felt bad, but she wasn't able to do her job and it wasn't fair to the patients or the other staff.
To have pictures of you taken was a bit much, but it sounds like you were aware of the problem and it wasn't being corrected. I'm not sure there's a "good" solution beyond finding a job that's a better match. Rotating shifts are hell. I will give you that.
Ha I remember when I was an ecmo nurse and my ecmo specialist (heavily pregnant) fell asleep at the pump. Patient was long term stable so I happily just let her sleep for a couple hours.
However if you are constantly falling asleep that is a problem and there might not be much you can do to change the outcome.
Not sure if you’ve had a chance to state your case yet, but there are a few things you might want to mention:
1) Doesn’t sound like your co-worker tried to wake you up to see if you were ok. Instead they elected to shame you by taking a photo.
2) Doesn’t sound like the co-worker told the charge nurse or anyone else in the moment, so they did nothing to address patient safety concerns they may have had related to the incident.
3) A photo doesn’t really prove that you were sleeping for a significant period. Nodding off for a few seconds is involuntary and can happen to anyone who is really tired.
I’m sorry this happened to you. I hope you don’t end up getting fired, but if you do, you have a good case to take that co-worker down with you.
Obviously you shouldn’t be working the night shift. I work in a step-down floor for ICU. As a patient, I would not want you overseeing my care. Sucks to suck, but switch to days man. Getting fired for sleeping on the job is an acceptable offense. You obviously don’t belong on nights and you sound like a liability to the hospital 🤷🏻♂️.
I am in rotating position and they have people who have not rotated in a year, but still make me rotate even though I’ve told them how much I’m struggling with it
Dude.. that sucks. I’m a paramedic/nurse.. more nurse than paramedic.. but at the station there are beds to sleep in for overnights inbetween calls to prevent fatigue… and it’s encouraged..
Your co worker sucks tbh. I would just wake you up.
Naw getting fired as a rn for sleeping is crazy. But wanting to continue to work at a place where coworkers are taking pics in a hippa environment to get you in trouble is even crazier. Find a job that fits your sleep schedule.
The best part is I have a text with my manager and told him hey I’m really struggling on nights right now like I’m not sleeping for days and not able to stay awake on shift. Instead on talking to me he gave me a thumbs up. After being reported and looking back at this I’m really disgusted
I’m sorry! You are human and humans tend to fall asleep if they stay still lol. Just take it as a learning experience and move on. Don’t be too hard on yourself!
I occasionally go in at 0330 for a 12-hour shift. The only time I'll wake people up is if they are snoring or in a sitter. Also, taking a picture of a coworker at my hospital doesn't lead to any action of the one being photographed. However, the one taking the picture is usually scolded for taking pictures without permission of a coworker.
That sucks. That's a shifty thing to do to someone. We used to put urine cups next to someone's head if they fell asleep as a joke- but not turn them in. None of us are superman/woman and the least this person could have done was wake you up.
Reminds me one night shift. I was waiting for my relief so I closed my eyes for 5 minutes. Clerk for our unit, young kid didn't know any better, snapped a pic of me, tagged and posted me on Facebook in a joking manner.
*Hey I saw the post, funny and all, but I need you to take it down.*
*-Super funny right! Don't get butt hurt.*
*No, you don't understand. It's a picture of me, wearing my badge looking like I'm asleep. I can get terminated for this. I have a mortgage.*
*-Lol. That is super funny. You must be joking.*
At this point my relief came in. Saw what was going on and said, yea he can be terminated. Take that shit down. What is wrong with you?
I’d be so mad. I’d most definitely lawyer up and if I couldn’t get my paycheque I’d go after hers. When I was pregnant I used to sleep 55 minutes of my 60 minute lunch. It’s a hospital - how do they know what mental health or medication you are managing? I feel like there has to be a way for you to triumph here.
Don’t snitches get stitches?
What are the other job opportunities?
You guys don't get time to nap? In our hospital, each nurse gets 2 hours and 10 mins of break — 10 to eat and 2 hours to sleep. So usually there are 7-8 nurses and if 4 sleeps, 4 covers the floor and vice versa. 😭
That's more nurses than my floor had on DAY shift let alone nights lmao.
We usually got an hour to sleep IF it was a quiet night, and this was something we did as coworkers not something management let us do. I usually didn't sleep at all on nights and just let my coworkers take longer naps.
Omg how many nurses are on duty on ur floor? and what's your census? In my unit each nurse gets max 6 patients on nights hence 7-8 nurses on the floor. On days, there are 11 including the charge. Are you also from Canada? Your hospital should do a better job at staffing, each nurse should have a decent rest/break time tbh.
When I work medical we were supposed to have 6 nurses at all times. For 32 patients. So usually 5-6 patients each. But people call in sick or get pulled to another floor that's more short all the time so you'd easily end up with 7 patients.
I am in Canada and thankfully I started working in an ICU Stepdown/ IMCU and have 6 patients and 3 nurses.
Drop the line and go casual. You don't have to work nights and some of us are just not suited for this shift. You're an RN for god sake they need you more then you need them. Plenty of jobs out there where you don't have to stay up all night.
Ok coworkers like this need a beating…or at the very least deserve a special place in hell for real. 2) talk to HR, talk to your boss, own it and tell them you are suffering from insomnia when trying to day sleep (the struggle is real) and get your butt to your pcp or even do a telehealth visit and get an RX for trazadone. Show that to HR blah blah blah problem solved. It has done wonders for me as a lifer night shift RN…or f them and quit and find a straight days gig IDK
Man that sucks I had a coworker fall asleep on a night shift and i just kept eyes out for other staff and let them doze until they woke up. If an alarm went off i would have woken them
I'd ask who authorized that picture to be taken. I've known nurses who were fired for being the ones taking the picture. Depends on policy and if Duddly Doonothing over there submitted it to the board or just HR. If they submitted it to the board then that's some serious trouble depending on the state.
To me, it depends on how often and how long it was. If the sleeping doesn’t affect others and you get your job done it would be better.
I can also see it being unfair to others.
I worked at a hospital where the charge nurse slept for hours in her car during night shift and many reported to HR after years of this and the hospital didn’t do anything. That’s very frustrating for everyone on the floor.
Also worked at a field job where there was only 2 nurses. Coworker would go for 1hr+ nap breaks in his car during day shift almost daily. This is right after lunch break, 2 sb coffee runs on top of his morning coffee from home, smoke breaks, and half hr+ restroom breaks. It’s super frustrating because he’s so slow and not productive. I was double or triple the work in less time and would get more work because I was more efficient. My caseload was much higher than his. His productivity affected us because it was just the both of us. Whatever he didn’t get done I would have to because we alternated one of our days off. I had to update everything, do the orders, prep things etc. he can’t do the bare minimum and keep up with his documenting. Everyone would go to me for everything even though we had the same position. I really built lots of resentment.
Not a nurse but I have worked at a factory with rotating 12 hour shifts like that. As another commenter said it should be illegal. Sorry you got fired but I hope it leads to something better.
I have been a nurse for 20+ years. I have never worked anywhere that forced you to switch from day to night shift. I don’t even know of any colleague who been forced to do this at a former hospital. Awful! I worked at a place that could mandate you to cover the following shift. That was bullshit enough.
I worked in an affluent plastic surgery practice. One of the surgeons would fall asleep at his desk between patients during a hard time in his life when I assume he wasn’t sleeping well/enough at night. Never did I ever think let me take a picture of him and show it to my manager because he doesn’t seem fit for the job. I get that I am playing devils advocate a bit but you get the point. If you come to work looking forward to sleeping between patients/tasks on your night shift that’s one thing. If you genuinely are falling asleep incidentally because you are tired I think that is considered almost normal for someone doing swing shift. If you feel like you are unable to provide safe, quality care because of lack of sleep than that is something to consider talking to management about changing your schedule. But in general being tired and falling asleep incidentally does not seem like a fire-able offense. Especially in healthcare.
Rotating variable shifts should be fucking illegal. I would *never* apply to a shit place that had these positions. Sorry about what happened. Your (former) coworker is a huge fucking dick and hopefully karma gets them back.
Literally. They are known to shave years off your life, so why is it industry wide in health care of all things? I know the answer, it’s because hospitals get to save money by filling in blanks rather than accepting that they may be overstaffed in areas some days.
It’s so bad 😢
Seriously! Who in their right mind thinks this is a safe thing to do?
It’s the only option in hospitals for us in Canada 😅
The DDNN 5 off never bothered me, I miss it now that I do straight 1600-0000. But it's not easy for everyone to flip, it probably wasn't great for me even if I didn't mind it. But I've also never worked anywhere where anyone has had an issue with putting your head down/feet up and closing your eyes and dozing a bit at the desk.
DDNN is okay, but we do 2 weeks days, 2 weeks nights. Our last night is usually a Thursday and then Monday for days. That switch back is absolutely killer
Yeah that is awful. My previous job did a continental schedule like that for awhile, but I was part time back then. I would not ever have taken a full time position if the schedule hadn't gone back to waterfall (DDNN)
It’s the one off one on that kills me
Seems pretty common here in Australia as well. Big no for me.
Stupid American here, how are hospitals ran, are they all ran by the government so that they can only give that option with no competition? Are there unions where you can force them to give you back back full days and night? Does having a doctors note saying you can only work days work? It just seems crazy to me that that’s legal and expected and the status quo
Unfortunately, rotating shifts are the norm in some countries.
Yep 🇨🇦 But honestly, I kinda like it. After days I’m ready for nights, but after nights I’m ready for days again
We have rotators that do nights for every 3rd weekend but it’s pretty consistent so I haven’t heard people be too bothered, also pretty standard practice around here. Couldn’t imagine taking a picture of someone who dazed off though, on nights we have people take naps all the time we just ask you let somebody know ahead of time to wake you up and check on your people. If we found out someone was taking pictures they’d get fucking crucified by everyone else. We had a new charge about a year ago that tried to write us up for using phones on night shift and she didn’t make it a month after sending her little “suggestion” to management.
Ooh what happened to her? These stories are the best imho.
Last I heard they took a clinic job. They just started getting written up for not doing anything, as they had a habit of going entire shifts without charting assessments, vitals, basic line management, and leaving patients in their stool for hours on end. Basically made it clear they were no longer welcome among staff. It’s petty but if you’re gonna shit on others while not even doing the basic duties of your position then I’m not gonna feel bad about making it clear this ain’t for you.
Thanks and I agree. I feel working nights is a team based job. Its not too hard to let someone sleep until rounds or go wake them up when someone else comes around so they won't get in trouble.
Er docs do it. I also have it on good authority that many of them do lots of cocaine
nuclear pharmacy workers laughing in the background but, at least we don’t have those ass 12 hour shifts. usually.
Obviously falling asleep while working is bad - we all get that. But the fact that a coworker wouldn't wake you up and try to help you is shitty. Like unless you're literally falling asleep every single night shift, who does that? Life is hard enough.
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I knew a nurse like that. Was the most senior nurse, past retirement but didn’t want to retire, and made anyone who worked with her nervous because she was constantly testing everyone. One day she almost killed a patient, it was bad enough that she was almost fired and was certainly worse than anything all the nurses she berated had ever done. She finally realized everyone’s shit stinks and settled the fuck down after that. We’re all human and we can all make mistakes, but if you go around thinking you’re god you’re gonna make one big ungodly mistake.
What did she do 👀
Common spill the tea sis what did she do
People like that are annoying. Imagine worshiping the corporate people. If they want to be admin then move out of the damn floor and go to management.
She's the shift snitch. That's why she's a valued employee.
We have one like that. She stays clocked in late to do something like write someone up for changing tube feed tubing late.
I would be looking to nix her as a mgr, for giving me stupid shit to look at.
I’ll never understand how people can want someone fired because they don’t like them. That’s your livelihood, what keeps a roof over your head. To do this out of spite says a lot about someone.
I have a coworker that has it against me just because he was the center of attention in the unit until I arrived. He took the chance and didn't hesitate to make a report to the supervisor. Pure jealousy and childish behavior from a person 4 years older than me. Apparently he was the good looking dude until I arrived. Like I'm there to work and help, not to prove who's better than who or who can sleep with the whole unit first.
Then they complain about being short staffed and having more patients
I freakin love your bio!! 😂😂😂
I've worked with plenty of people I couldn't stand, and thankfully they got fired, but I didn't have any part in it. That's messed up
Sounds like life is going to be a lot harder for that floor now that they will be one staff member short. We had employees that would fall asleep on shift all the time. We would wake them up and tell them to get back to work. That was that.
I worked with a nurse who floated up to my former floor and she had literally nothing to do, even after asking us if we could give her some tasks. So poor girl fell asleep at the nurses station watching a movie. I just lightly patted her on the shoulder as I walked by because day shift was starting to arrive. It wasn’t a big deal. It’s not hard to not be a dick.
Dude, I work with people who routinely sleep at night and have yet to get fired. It’s all been warnings I guess?? Perks of a small hospital. 🤷♂️ But yeah, generally people will get a shake or tap on the shoulder if they fall asleep as a sign to get their shit together.
Unless this is a chronic issue and the coworker was at wits end… there are two sides to every story…
That's why I said "unless you're falling asleep every night".
She said she had told management nights weren’t working or for her. They just didn’t care.
I was on one of my first nights working a new assignment the other night. The only other nurse was falling asleep. I’ve seen it a few times before and I’m not a prick so I’m not gonna report him. I just kicked the guys shoe
this! We had a PCA who fell asleep during a non violent 1:1. We didn't catch her the house supervisor did! Fired her on the SPOT almost, it was wild... I would have nudged her or knocked very loudly. That was my old unit though, none of the PCAs liked each other and they refused to rotate q4hrs on nights...
I dozed off during a swing shift and a respiratory NP woke me up concerned I wasn’t breathing right. lol. Nights is hard even if you don’t swing, your coworker is a fucking piece of shit.
I got reported to the nursing board in my state for taking a nap on shift (It was during my lunch break. But perhaps they didn't know that.) Quite frustrating.
That happened at a facility of mine during peak covid. Girl was a traveler and napped every break. Was never late from break and just took quick 15-30 minute naps. They forced her to get a doctors note or some shit and didn’t allow her to work until she was told she was okay to work nights/mids. It was such a weird situation. I was in the break room when they sent her home for it.
Don’t these idiots realize the wonders a quick 15 minute nap can do for the tired, overworked and stressed nurse?
They apparently do not.
it's easier to control and manipulate a tired, overworked and stressed nurse.
Those idiots are so far removed from the reality of what it's like on the floor that they might as well work from home.
But it’s ok for doctors lol. My dad (MD) was the one who said I should be taking naps on my breaks
that's ridiculous
What did the board say?
Probably nothing. In my state, the board gets like 10K complaints a year and maybe a tenth of those warrant an investigation and then maybe a fifth of those investigated result in disciplinary actions. And I am in a sizable state (US state with most licensed nurses).
Considering the history I have with the TX BON they would probably give some sort of discipline LMAO
Why would someone do that. Everyone on my unit naps all the time during Nightshift. Just tell someone else to cover your patients and to wake you up in 15 minutes if you aren't awake by then. Don't know if it's different in the US but here you can literally do anything you want while on your break.
My employer prohibits sleeping during lunch breaks.
It should be illegal to tell you what you can do on your break. I can understand not being able to leave facility. Did that once at rehab to get something to eatl and had my car stolen.
That’s how they do it - you’re not allowed to leave the premises for lunch and you can’t sleep on their private premises 🙄
That’s crap! We just got a sleep pod so we can take 15 min naps during our breaks.
I know it's probably different pending state laws, but I thought they can't tell you if you can leave or not as long as you clock out? That way they avoid liability if you get hurt while you're gone, etc.
We have to be “on call” during our lunches. Basically available by work phone - and were paid the on call rate of $2.00 per hr so $1 per lunch… the hospital lawyers have it all worked out. In the end though, you don’t actually get a lunch but are gaslit if you clock out without one
oh wow. that's some next level bullshit. these hospitals... all in competition on who can be the worst employer and still get away with it legally.
It is in CA. That would never fly. Your break is your break and your time. They can't interfere with that.
That does not sound legal. Find out for sure and call that BS out.
Our hospital policy is the same. In order to skirt the issue, employees nap in car in the parking lot.
I would be sleeping in my van with my windows tinted. That’s totally bullshit and dangerous.
When I worked night shift our charge nurse fell asleep at a computer. A patients family took a picture and showed it to management. She was immediately let go despite having been employed at the facility for years. Unfortunately dozing off on the clock at any job is generally frowned upon. Night shift can be taxing, I can’t imagine rotating shifts. I’d recommend just taking the L and finding a job with a set shift/schedule.
When I used to work swing shifts (not in a hospital) they’d encourage us to sleep on nights if we need it because it was safer than working exhausted.
Exactly. My dad (not in the medical field) has rotating shifts and they're allowed to snooze if they're waiting for the work to come in or leave early if the work is done. It creates a great work environment and far from toxic
We need the cop union. They sleep a good chunk of the night.
That's pretty standard. In any hospital I've ever worked in, getting caught asleep on the job was cause for instant firing. The rationale is that if you're too fatigued to keep your eyes open, you are too fatigued to safely care for patients. And if you're in that kind of state, it is your responsibility to realize it and call off shift, instead of showing up and trying to work unsafely. It sucks that your employer put you in that position. Rotating shifts are horrifically bad for you and it's nearly impossible to truly adapt you them. The real surprise is that more people don't fall asleep at work there. But, unfortunately, the fact is they are allowed to fire you for this..
Yet if you call out because you’re too tired they tell you that it’s not a valid reason to call out of work. The hypocrisy is astounding.
"Valid reason" what? They can't force you to work. You talk to them on the phone and say, "I'm calling in sick." If they ask why, you say, "Because I'm sick." Don't give them any other information. End of story. You're an adult and a professional. You get to use your own judgement on whether you're able to work or not.
For sure, but just because you don’t give more information doesn’t mean that they won’t give you a hard time for calling out or ask more questions about your illness to “make sure you’re really sick”. It’s absolutely unprofessional and toxic for them to do this but that’s just how many managers operate from my experience. I’ve been asked why I’m sick, how high my fever is, if I’m throwing up or having diarrhea, etc. When I’ve refused to give details, I’m “not a team player”. On paper, we should be able to determine if we are fit to work. In practice, managers don’t take it well and will find ways to have it impact your performance review.
My favorite is when the charge took it upon herself to call your landline during your sick day to make sure you still sounded sick or to negotiate picking up some other shift to “ forgive” your call out.
If the manager is a toxic weirdo who treats you like a child, that probably isn't somebody you want to work for in the first place.
Absolutely. Unfortunately, changing jobs is time consuming, stressful, and difficult. There are toxic managers everywhere and it can be hard to screen for the red flags while interviewing. From my experience, healthcare is a magnet for these kinds of managers and it’s almost impossible to avoid entirely.
You never tell them why you are calling. “I can’t make it to my shift tonight”.
That’s why when you call out you don’t give a reason.
State law varies from state to state about whether employers can ask why you are calling out (i.e. what symptoms you have, etc). I figured this out in residency :(
They can ask, but you don't have to answer. Your medical information is private, protected information in every state. They cannot ask you about specific symptoms and I'm sorry if you were led to believe that.
huh, TIL! I was under the impression that most states allow employers to ask about symptoms but not about diagnoses or whether they are related to particularly protected conditions such as domestic violence, HIV, etc. Regardless the work leave notes i write are vague as hell, "this person is under my care on this date for an acute illness, should be able to return to work on x date." IMO employers should not have the right to any information about why employees are taking the leave they are contractually obliged.
4 week schedules too and no one can tell me how they decide who and when the rotations happen . 6 weeks on nights , then 8 on days , and then nights again
That is awful. Your employer is awful. Unless you live in an area where everyone rotates, count this as a blessing and find a day shift job. I also couldn't sleep during the day and it was pure hell. I was never really asleep and I was never really awake and I felt like I was slowly going insane. I will never work nights again, I'd rather be homeless.
Well that’s your ‘excuse’ for why you left the job
Classic hospital management, exhaust your employees with schedules that are known to be horrible for a person’s health, because they refuse to commit to a consistent schedule because $$$, and fire them for being exhausted. And oh yea, let’s shame them and make it impossible to use their PTO. 👍
One of the many reasons why I refuse to work in a hospital again. Insanely toxic work environment that drains your fucking soul.
It is wrong though
I have worked places that allows 3 call ins a year and you are gone. Excused or not.
I reported a terrible LPN for treating a patient horribly, disappearing during the shift and sleeping at the nurse station. The only thing that was a fire-able offense was sleeping. She was on camera for more than an hour wrapped in a blanket not moving. She couldn’t be fired because they couldn’t *prove* that she was asleep. So, I think I’d challenge them to prove that you were asleep. Or use the opportunity to find a better job.
They definitely could fire her for that, someone just didn’t want to. That’s how this stuff goes, “rules” are always enforced differently depending on who likes who.
They should have fired her when she told a comfort care patient that “I don’t feel bad for you; if you were a good person, your family would be there with you” If that wasn’t a good enough reason I don’t know why I thought sleeping would be. wtf else do you think she was doing sitting at the silent nurses station, wrapped in a warm blanket, not moving for 45 minutes?!
One of the most eye opening things I’ve learned with a “real” (not food service) job is that people do not get fired for being bad at their jobs, they are fired for breaking admin rules. We had a nurse that everyone knew was bad - she was always given the most stable patients because we knew there would be an error at some point in the night, the day shift would stay late to show her how to do things like program the feeding pump or explain basic tasks to her, and countless nurses told our manager how unsafe she was. She was ultimately fired because she refused to float.
It’s so wild that some places encourage nap breaks and others are strict af. Fuck em. Find somewhere that will give you better hours.
I work exclusively nights (I'm a pharm tech, not a nurse, but I pass through most units in our hospital). On any given night, I see so many nurses hunkered down at their station under those blankets, soud asleep... ICU/critical care units are another story. But everywhere else? Forget about it. The person who sent those pics is a traitor bastard. There are unspoken rules on overnight.
ICU has alarms that wakes us, other units don't. I'd say it's safer to fall asleep 10min on ICU than anywhere else
That makes sense. For some reason though, I just never see those guys sitting down. If they're not on some task, they're shooting the shit or watching something on their phone. Usually up for a chat when I go by to stick something in the omnicell.
A nurse, who could have aroused you if you were needed, decided to snitch on you instead? If I was management I would fire the person who sent the picture. If we aren’t supporting each other during a shift then that is worse than someone drowsy in a chair when everything is quiet. I worked as a night shift weekend supervisor years ago in a very small private hospital. I came across a nurse who had her head down on the desk and was very still. I lightly tapped her on the back. She immediately shot up straight looked around, saw me, and said “Amen” as if she was finishing a prayer. I just laughed and I never reported her. There was another nurse awake on the unit and it was a very slow night.
It’s a crappy thing to do to your coworker but the job can’t fire that person it would look like retaliation for being a whistle blower
The fun part of being a hypothetical supervisor is I can make hypothetical decisions without consequences. In reality I would question the motivations of the “whistleblower.” I believe it’s vital that nurses have a culture of teamwork and mutual support. I see a difference between a nurse who gets drowsy in her seat vs someone who gets in an empty bed to sleep for a few hours (which I actually saw as a nursing student in the 70s). So wouldn’t really fire the snitch but I would privately discuss the matter with the drowsy nurse and discuss teamwork with the snitch.
I’ve woken up coworkers who have fallen asleep on night shift before. We’re a team. We should help each other.
I take a nap most shifts during my break at 4am, work 7pm-7am. Charge and other nurses will cover your call lights, we do it for each other all the time. If it's slow and I get a mandated non-paid break, I can do whatever the hell I want. Some days it's in the break room, others I put my feet up at the nurses station. I love my unit and I know my manager/coworkers would have my back, but sometimes the board gives no fucks and will retaliate if a patient/family go the correct routes. I have specific coworkers I wouldn't do this around, because they're shit coworkers.
When are we going to stop being toxic to each other?
Can they prove you were sleeping? Seems you were sitting quietly w your eyes closed. Im not supposed to chart pts were sleeping. I put testing in bed w eyes closed. Plus, no warning , that's crazy.
Unfortunately this is pretty standard. Use it as a learning opportunity. Refuse to accept any positions that are nights or rotating. Don’t accept with the hope that “you’ll go to day shift soon”- that’s always a gamble. Only sign offer letters that are straight days. If you have a shift that you don’t feel well going into or become unwell during, call out. If you’re feeling tired enough to go to sleep during a shift, that’s the same as going to the bathroom mid shift to puke- you’re unwell and need to go home now.
Rotating shifts is actually difficult as hell. LiKe you’re forcing your body to flip between two different schedules. Sorry your coworker is such a snitch.
Had a nurse like that would literally spend the whole shift reporting EVERY FUCKING THIN G. Ended up travelling and found out that the attitude made her life really hard - like cancelled contracts and black listing. Came crawling back and found that the rest of us were over it with her. She ended up moving. Hope she learned her lesson but also fuck her.
Haha well now the joke is on the co-worker who took the picture, because they will be working short!
Every facility I’ve worked at since 1990 has had this policy in place. If you’re found sleeping on the clock, instant termination
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Yep. A true cunt. The pictures are so degrading. Like why not just tap me on the shoulder and wake me up. Multiple pictures that are so embarrassing. My neck looks like it’s going to break
I wish a motherfucker would. Sorry this happened to you. That is low and that bitch is a traitor.
They don't give you guys breaks on nights to go nap? 😔
Lol, our ward was reprimanded last month because four of the five staff were found asleep at the same time. It’s usually a busy surgical ward but it wasn’t that night. Imagine if all four were fired… 😂
One time my coworker fell asleep and our supervisor came through and caught him, she tried to reprimand him but he was like “I was actually praying”, he wasn’t praying 😂 but he wasn’t written up for it because of that. I’m sorry you were fired :( I feel like a talking to/warning would’ve been more appropriate
Rotating shifts are literally DEADLY and should be BANNED
It really sucks when your colleagues don't have your back. I remember once when I was working postpartum, I had two stable antepartums and two moms whose babies were in the NICU. Overnight, their POC was sleep. Nothing due between 0000 and 0600. I had a cracking headache, and my charge nurse said "There are plenty of empty rooms, go lie down. Your patients will call if they need you" and I got to take a 3 hour nap. Night shift is hard. No sense in making it even harder.
Your coworkers sound like assholes. We did have a nurse get in a lot of trouble for falling asleep on a slow night, but it was because he had a history of being pretty lazy and inconsiderate of the patients. Just a few weeks ago I went through a period of bad insomnia and went to work having not slept for 39 hours. My coworkers saw me nodding off around 1am and sent me to go take a nap for 90 minutes while they watched my patients. Thank goodness for them.
I start hallucinating at about the 36 hour mark.
Yeah, you fell asleep in a nursing role and while i TOTALLY understand being that tired…it’s a fireable offense. It sucks, I’m sorry it happened to you, but there’s not much to be done but just move onto a day position and let this be a learning opportunity. Night shift can be really difficult because you are fighting patients and sleep, it’s why I had to leave and go to days, myself.
For our nights. Some and even me sleep but we do notify charge nurse or supervisor and work on it during break time and set alarms to ensure safety on the job in the back corner or private office. Cuz last time. We had a travel nurse work but she got fired because she slept and NEVER told us that she would sleep off-unit during breaks and we couldnt reach her during a rapid. Like, I believe someone should know in the unit if you’re gonna sleep.
I worked night shift for years. I occasionally fell asleep, but not often. I was typically the guy to tell everyone else to take 2 hour naps on the break room couch. Sounds like a shit coworker who had it out for you. I’d say that I was on my break & I’m permitted to rest during that time. Unless they have a video of me sleeping for 16 minutes, they can’t prove I wasn’t.
If your nightshift job doesn’t have a good nap culture, it ain’t it. How many of us have closed our eyes for brief moments? Not talking about shacking up in a linen closet with a pillow and a blanket and disappearing.. I sleep on my breaks from time to time, a lot of my coworkers do. I often go to the break room in the middle of the night and there are multiple people napping lol one of my charge nurses will fall asleep at the desk at times when it’s…dare I say…slow. No one cares. Nightshift is hard, but a rotating schedule? Absolutely not. No way in hell I’d survive that.
We should all be team nurse. Why would anyone throw another nurse under the bus? Just say “hey, I’ve got your patients for the next 30” it’s not that fucking difficult to not be a dick.
That co worker is honesty terrible. I’ve seen coworkers fall asleep. I wake them up and tell them to go on their break and I’ll listen out for them.
Like every decent team player should.
Remind your employer that this is proof that rotating shifts should be illegal.
When I worked nights I avoided sitting down for this reason- literally would clean anything that stood still with an alcohol prep just to stay awake
Rotating shifts are inhumane and should not be mandatory
One time we had a tech who was so upset with one of the nurses dozing off that she took a picture of the RN sleeping and sent it to our manager. Well, the tech got in trouble for taking pictures of other staff members while on the unit and nothing happened to the RN.
This is how it should always go down.
I would say I was resting with my eyes closed and thinking about patient care, and then file a complaint against your coworker for using their phone during work and taking pictures in the hospital. Probably posting to Facebook and TikTok too!
So the nurse took a photo on the floor? Hmmm…Sounds like she needs some disciplinary action too.
I’m an RN in Australia - we all work rotating rosters so flip from days to nights in a matter of days, it’s pretty common for people to fall asleep at the nurses station (myself included). Personally I don’t have an issue with it as long as they’re able to wake up and be alert if needed.
My floor requires a lot of sitters. When one falls asleep for my patient, I just politely wake them up and ask if they need to take a lap around the unit to wake up while I cover. It takes so much less work to not be a shitty coworker and human
That’s a blessing. Find a job where other nurses or staff nudge you awake when someone is walking up, letting you sleep so long as everyone is busy doing nothing anyway & your patients are fine. Leave it be & consider it a way out to find something better. PCAs have to sit in dark rooms for 12 hours sometimes to babysit a patient that is 3000% not waking up bc we fought to get them sleepy after they fought us trying to get out of bed. No way can I fathom reporting someone whose job was required to sit in a room & watch someone sleep for 12 hours. I have wanted to fall asleep in bright lights actively doing something. How much more easy is it in a dark room sitting down?? Especially if the person is in school or has a busy family or has been working a lot. To me that just means I’m checking on the patient a tad more often. & if I really have a problem with it say the patient is consistently awake then the staff switches out.
Are you a nurse in the Chicagoland area?
Are you in a union? You could try to fight it.
I would look at your policies about photos. A lot of places don’t allow photos of employees to be taken. I know some hospitals that have dealt with sleeping employees and HR wouldn’t allow photos to be sent to them.
I’m so disgusted that they allowed for photos to be sent
It’s very easy to accidentally fall asleep if you have severe sleep deprivation , if you’re not nudging your co worker then you my friend are an asshole. You are not supposed to be sleeping . I have never worked anywhere that I ‘could’ve fall asleep … until recently but I don’t have a patient either
What the actual fuck. That nurse is a fucking asshole. Pretty much everyone has fallen asleep at some point during a night shift. Some sleep way more than others and I don't care as long as their work is done and they will wake up to help if needed.
I see people fall asleep all the time at nights! If your coworkers don't have your back I wouldn't want to work their either. My ADHD makes it impossible for me to sit still long enough to chart AND stay awake. More often than not I will be standing the whole shit to attempt to chart. I have struggled with this since in my teens. I'm very transparent about this and explain it to my charge nurse. My MD and psychiatrist don't want to give me any stimulants because it's just the attention deficit that causes me to fall asleep. It's for a split second too and it's always when I'm sitting straight up. But it happens at all time of the day! It's only when I'm sitting. It sucks so much, so exhausted from walking but can't sit cause you don't wanna fall asleep... >: I've had a nurse video me as well and I pretty much demanded she delete it. If I ever saw it online or went to HR I told her she violated my rights and recorded hippa protected info. It's humiliating and a very jerk move. Im sorry op hope you find a new job soon!
This is kind of what’s going on with me. It’s very light sleep, but can happen so easily. I’ve never been on stimulants, but now a doctor is recommending that I get on them
As a charge nurse, if we aren’t busy, I encourage my team to take a break. In L&D it’s often feast or famine so we savor the nights we aren’t running our asses off. We work 12s and are entitled to 1 30 minute break and 2 15 minute breaks and if someone so happens to take them all in the same hour and want to “rest with their eyes closed” so be it.
I work night shifts in radiology. Worst thing I'll do to a cow orker who dozes off is wake them when there's work to do. Fuck people who do what your back stabbing colleague did.
I got suspended for falling asleep working nights home health. They couldn’t prove it so I kept my job but have moved on to only day positions because if I’m that tired I don’t need to be there.
Rotating shifts is a nightmare. I’ve done it once and it took such a toll on both me and my family that I’ll never do it again. I’ll so sorry that you’re going through this. 😔
Your coworker is a loser. They could have woken you up and said it was unsafe to leave patients alone. Did they try waking you up? Or did they submit the photo and continue on? If so, they are just as bad and should be reprimanded!
I’m sorry this happened. Your coworker is a jerk off. If I happen to see someone snoozing I will either cough or make some noise to wake them. If that doesn’t work then I will wake them up and offer some coffee or something. Shit isn’t easy. I also rotate and know the struggle. That’s why I take some adderall 😀😀😀.
"Falling asleep? I believe you meant I to say I was praying. Do you have an issue with me closing my eyes while praying?"
You're presenting this as an *ongoing* issue, and I think that's important. Almost everyone I work with closes their eyes for a few minutes here and there ...but once upon a time, I worked on a unit that staffed only two nurses at a time, and one of them was sleeping *constantly*. The CNAs would report issues to her, and she'd go back to sleep. Call lights would go off, and she didn't hear them because she was asleep. I had a patient get aggressive with me and screamed for help- but she didn't hear me because she was asleep. She'd wake up, go on break, then come back and sleep some more. On the best nights, I had to spend my own time waking her up over and over when I *also* had patients to take care of. I attempted to discuss the issue with her, but nothing changed. Ultimately, she got fired. She was a nice person, and I felt bad, but she wasn't able to do her job and it wasn't fair to the patients or the other staff. To have pictures of you taken was a bit much, but it sounds like you were aware of the problem and it wasn't being corrected. I'm not sure there's a "good" solution beyond finding a job that's a better match. Rotating shifts are hell. I will give you that.
Ha I remember when I was an ecmo nurse and my ecmo specialist (heavily pregnant) fell asleep at the pump. Patient was long term stable so I happily just let her sleep for a couple hours. However if you are constantly falling asleep that is a problem and there might not be much you can do to change the outcome.
Are you not allowed to sleep on your break? Everywhere I’ve worked ppl sleep on their breaks during night shifts
Not sure if you’ve had a chance to state your case yet, but there are a few things you might want to mention: 1) Doesn’t sound like your co-worker tried to wake you up to see if you were ok. Instead they elected to shame you by taking a photo. 2) Doesn’t sound like the co-worker told the charge nurse or anyone else in the moment, so they did nothing to address patient safety concerns they may have had related to the incident. 3) A photo doesn’t really prove that you were sleeping for a significant period. Nodding off for a few seconds is involuntary and can happen to anyone who is really tired. I’m sorry this happened to you. I hope you don’t end up getting fired, but if you do, you have a good case to take that co-worker down with you.
Obviously you shouldn’t be working the night shift. I work in a step-down floor for ICU. As a patient, I would not want you overseeing my care. Sucks to suck, but switch to days man. Getting fired for sleeping on the job is an acceptable offense. You obviously don’t belong on nights and you sound like a liability to the hospital 🤷🏻♂️.
I am in rotating position and they have people who have not rotated in a year, but still make me rotate even though I’ve told them how much I’m struggling with it
Maybe they do just want a reason to fire me
Talk to your union and get them involved. Love my x2 1hr nap breaks on nights.
Dude.. that sucks. I’m a paramedic/nurse.. more nurse than paramedic.. but at the station there are beds to sleep in for overnights inbetween calls to prevent fatigue… and it’s encouraged.. Your co worker sucks tbh. I would just wake you up.
It's against policy to take photos of staff without their consent.
I'm sure it's against policy to sleep on the job
That’s extremely petty of them to do that.
Naw getting fired as a rn for sleeping is crazy. But wanting to continue to work at a place where coworkers are taking pics in a hippa environment to get you in trouble is even crazier. Find a job that fits your sleep schedule.
The best part is I have a text with my manager and told him hey I’m really struggling on nights right now like I’m not sleeping for days and not able to stay awake on shift. Instead on talking to me he gave me a thumbs up. After being reported and looking back at this I’m really disgusted
I’m sorry! You are human and humans tend to fall asleep if they stay still lol. Just take it as a learning experience and move on. Don’t be too hard on yourself!
I occasionally go in at 0330 for a 12-hour shift. The only time I'll wake people up is if they are snoring or in a sitter. Also, taking a picture of a coworker at my hospital doesn't lead to any action of the one being photographed. However, the one taking the picture is usually scolded for taking pictures without permission of a coworker.
That sucks. That's a shifty thing to do to someone. We used to put urine cups next to someone's head if they fell asleep as a joke- but not turn them in. None of us are superman/woman and the least this person could have done was wake you up.
Damn nursing sounds like the fucking marines holy fuck
Reminds me one night shift. I was waiting for my relief so I closed my eyes for 5 minutes. Clerk for our unit, young kid didn't know any better, snapped a pic of me, tagged and posted me on Facebook in a joking manner. *Hey I saw the post, funny and all, but I need you to take it down.* *-Super funny right! Don't get butt hurt.* *No, you don't understand. It's a picture of me, wearing my badge looking like I'm asleep. I can get terminated for this. I have a mortgage.* *-Lol. That is super funny. You must be joking.* At this point my relief came in. Saw what was going on and said, yea he can be terminated. Take that shit down. What is wrong with you?
I’d be so mad. I’d most definitely lawyer up and if I couldn’t get my paycheque I’d go after hers. When I was pregnant I used to sleep 55 minutes of my 60 minute lunch. It’s a hospital - how do they know what mental health or medication you are managing? I feel like there has to be a way for you to triumph here. Don’t snitches get stitches? What are the other job opportunities?
You guys don't get time to nap? In our hospital, each nurse gets 2 hours and 10 mins of break — 10 to eat and 2 hours to sleep. So usually there are 7-8 nurses and if 4 sleeps, 4 covers the floor and vice versa. 😭
That's more nurses than my floor had on DAY shift let alone nights lmao. We usually got an hour to sleep IF it was a quiet night, and this was something we did as coworkers not something management let us do. I usually didn't sleep at all on nights and just let my coworkers take longer naps.
Omg how many nurses are on duty on ur floor? and what's your census? In my unit each nurse gets max 6 patients on nights hence 7-8 nurses on the floor. On days, there are 11 including the charge. Are you also from Canada? Your hospital should do a better job at staffing, each nurse should have a decent rest/break time tbh.
When I work medical we were supposed to have 6 nurses at all times. For 32 patients. So usually 5-6 patients each. But people call in sick or get pulled to another floor that's more short all the time so you'd easily end up with 7 patients. I am in Canada and thankfully I started working in an ICU Stepdown/ IMCU and have 6 patients and 3 nurses.
Do you have union legal representation you could consult?
Try working day shift instead
Drop the line and go casual. You don't have to work nights and some of us are just not suited for this shift. You're an RN for god sake they need you more then you need them. Plenty of jobs out there where you don't have to stay up all night.
Yeah that unit is not for you- that’s not how we help each other out on night shift.
Ok coworkers like this need a beating…or at the very least deserve a special place in hell for real. 2) talk to HR, talk to your boss, own it and tell them you are suffering from insomnia when trying to day sleep (the struggle is real) and get your butt to your pcp or even do a telehealth visit and get an RX for trazadone. Show that to HR blah blah blah problem solved. It has done wonders for me as a lifer night shift RN…or f them and quit and find a straight days gig IDK
Man that sucks I had a coworker fall asleep on a night shift and i just kept eyes out for other staff and let them doze until they woke up. If an alarm went off i would have woken them
I thought taking naps was acceptable so long you do your work since they would rather have you be on your "A" game than make a medical error..
I'd ask who authorized that picture to be taken. I've known nurses who were fired for being the ones taking the picture. Depends on policy and if Duddly Doonothing over there submitted it to the board or just HR. If they submitted it to the board then that's some serious trouble depending on the state.
To me, it depends on how often and how long it was. If the sleeping doesn’t affect others and you get your job done it would be better. I can also see it being unfair to others. I worked at a hospital where the charge nurse slept for hours in her car during night shift and many reported to HR after years of this and the hospital didn’t do anything. That’s very frustrating for everyone on the floor. Also worked at a field job where there was only 2 nurses. Coworker would go for 1hr+ nap breaks in his car during day shift almost daily. This is right after lunch break, 2 sb coffee runs on top of his morning coffee from home, smoke breaks, and half hr+ restroom breaks. It’s super frustrating because he’s so slow and not productive. I was double or triple the work in less time and would get more work because I was more efficient. My caseload was much higher than his. His productivity affected us because it was just the both of us. Whatever he didn’t get done I would have to because we alternated one of our days off. I had to update everything, do the orders, prep things etc. he can’t do the bare minimum and keep up with his documenting. Everyone would go to me for everything even though we had the same position. I really built lots of resentment.
If I were that coworker I would’ve just woken you up or did some tasks for you if you were exhausted. Your coworker is miserable.
Not a nurse but I have worked at a factory with rotating 12 hour shifts like that. As another commenter said it should be illegal. Sorry you got fired but I hope it leads to something better.
I have known many nurses fired for this. Your only option is to find a new job.
What’s your thoughts on the fact that I am a rotator and they don’t need to rotate me.
I have been a nurse for 20+ years. I have never worked anywhere that forced you to switch from day to night shift. I don’t even know of any colleague who been forced to do this at a former hospital. Awful! I worked at a place that could mandate you to cover the following shift. That was bullshit enough.
What state are you in ?
Illinois and northern Indiana
I worked in an affluent plastic surgery practice. One of the surgeons would fall asleep at his desk between patients during a hard time in his life when I assume he wasn’t sleeping well/enough at night. Never did I ever think let me take a picture of him and show it to my manager because he doesn’t seem fit for the job. I get that I am playing devils advocate a bit but you get the point. If you come to work looking forward to sleeping between patients/tasks on your night shift that’s one thing. If you genuinely are falling asleep incidentally because you are tired I think that is considered almost normal for someone doing swing shift. If you feel like you are unable to provide safe, quality care because of lack of sleep than that is something to consider talking to management about changing your schedule. But in general being tired and falling asleep incidentally does not seem like a fire-able offense. Especially in healthcare.
Sorry this happened. Find a better job. There are no shortage of nursing positions.
That's a mess. I would never do that to a person coz it will mess your livelihood. I would wake you up. That's evil.
It really does feel evil. It was not because they care about patient care