Nightingale Gazette

WAMC has decided to put up it's nursing newsletter the Nightingale Gazette back into commission. I am assigned as the lead photographer for the paper. I can't wait to see what articles we going to put out in the world of nursing here at WAMC and within the ANC at Ft. Bragg.

Some article ideas have popped such as nurse profiles, hail and farewells, and social events, but I'm really excited about getting pictures out by the CSH. The hospital has its exciting moments, but not a lot of opportunities to take pictures of nurses at the hospital due to HIPPA regulations. I would love to get some action pictures of nurses out in the training enviornments where they get down and dirty in the field.

I'll be sure to post a link on here to WAMC's annual Nightingale Gazatte when it's published. I hope it'll be posted on WAMC's new external website.

Tips for Night Shift

It's been about 3 weeks that I've been on nights and I still haven't adjusted to the new shift. I average about 4-5 hours of sleep after work, my eating habits are out of wack, and I feel like a walking zombie all the time. I've asked for some tips from various people and here's the top 3 that I will be trying out.

1. Blackout

Blackout refers to the room where I sleep in. The goal is to blackout ALL the light so my body thinks, "Oh! It's night time. Time for bed." Blockout all sunlight, alarm clock lights, and cell phone lights.

Below is the window of my bedroom.

Here is my blackout curtain with 500 mile per hour tape used to tape out the sides of light. How well does this work?

Hmm... Still some light to be shown. Need to find a way to cover the light from the top of the curtain. Otherwise it's about 90% dark in my bedroom.

2. Non-hangover sleep aids

Benadryl is what I have been using lately to help me sleep. With Benadryl, I've been waking up groggy without feeling refreshed. It has been recommended that I see my health care provider to prescribe some non-habitual forming sleep aids.

3. Have a routine

Switching from a normal lifestyle to an uncommon lifestyle is not an easy task. I haven't been able to do so lately. This is my new planned routine while I'm on night shift:

• 0800 - arrive at home, eat, shower, NO INTERNET, straight to bed in my blackout room
• 1500 - wake up, eat, workout, internet, prep for work
• 1820 - Leave for work
• Repeat as necessary

I emphasized no internet prior to bed. Another tip I got about sleeping well from here. I've noticed that I'm more alert after checking my emails, blogs, rss feeds, and yes Facebook. Best to avoid it in order to get some restful sleep.

I hope these tips help me out while I'm on my night shift rotation. Still open to new suggestions. How do you sleep during your night shift rotation?

Night Shift

I am officially off of preceptorship! I am ready to go into the world of nursing on my own. NOT!

I don't feel ready. Right now time management is the biggest thing I need to work on. I've been getting tips from my preceptors and the other nurses on the floor. Here's what I have now as a routine for the shift:

- Assessment
- Meds
- Treatments
- Charting

I learned that these should be done within the first 3-4 hours of the shift. The only problem I'm having is when I have to set up a pt for a procedure in the morning. Sometimes right after change of shift one pt needs to immediately go for a procedure. This changes my routine for the morning. My groove is messed up...

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I started nights last week. Boy is it different! My first night was very intense for me. It was a non-typical night shift as I was told by the other nurses. This week it's starting out to be more laid back. Somethings I like about night shift is the quietness of the floor. Not many people talking, not many procedures happening at this time, and most of the patients are sleeping. Even though it may seem more laid back, I've been told that most codes occur at night while patients are sleeping. It's important for me to check up on my patients throughout the night to make sure they are breathing.

Adjusting to nights has been difficult. I do feel that I get more day time than when I was on day shift. It's does feel go to go home in sunlight than in darkness. However, it makes it harder to sleep with sunlight peering through my bedroom window. Working getting blackout curtains to make my bedroom pitch black. Lately I've been only getting 4-5 hours of sleep a night (day). I sleep around 8-9 am and wake up on my own around 1pm. I take care of some business and have been taking a 30 min nap prior to going to work. During my shift I load up on snacks and coffee to keep me alert and awake.

One thing about nights that makes it difficult for me is that all the events I want to do are during the day. Going to church on Sundays will be difficult because after a shift I usually am too tired to do anything but sleep. Falling asleep in church is bad...

Side note:
The ROTC cadets have arrived. Brings me back to my days at Walter Reed back 2 summers ago. What an experience! I learned the most from that summer than I did at my clinicals during nursing school. I hope these "dots" have the same experience that I had.