Comments | nursing: double shifts!

iinkaholic in nursing

double shifts!

Oct 31, 2011 16:31

because i am crazy, i am working two doubles this week -- 6-2 at my full time job, then going to 2-10 at my prn place. i am planning on lots of caffeine but i'm still worried that i won't be able to handle it. :/
how do you stay awake, energized, etc when working doubles? any tips?

Comments 5

minuet1965 November 1 2011, 03:46:02 UTC

Honestly I wouldn't do that
I space myself out.

I do a lot of exercise which helps me a lot.
I don't do power drinks but I do have coffee in the morning

maybe someone else can help?

sandi1743 November 1 2011, 16:57:37 UTC

that is a bit nuts....can you reconsider?

piktureframe November 3 2011, 05:01:09 UTC

I just worked a double saturday, came back for a single on sunday and worked another double on monday. I'm a new grad so everything's new and interesting and I really don't mind.

I take diet pills for energy. Specifically oxy elite pro. It's expensive but it WORKS. As a nurse, I'm not necessarily advocating being abusive to your body but sometimes, you do what you gotta do. It's legal. You buy it at GNC and I think it has similar effects to ritalin. Lots of energy and concentration.

darthtunaqueen November 4 2011, 18:57:26 UTC

My tip is DON'T.

You're increasing your odds of making a mistake, of making poor choices. You're basically going to work drunk, since sleep deprivation acts on the brain the same way.

I have done this, and it *never* turns out well, you never have nice slow days where you can take the 10 minutes it takes to check meds because your eyes are blurring.

But tips: have someone else double check your meds. It's standard policy in my hospital (I do tiny humans, so everything's minute amounts and deviations are deadly). Map out your shift at the beginning of it, front load as MUCH as possible before you crash. Don't eat carbs, eat high high high protein. Avoid sugar as much as possible, eat lots of raw veggies (I find the crunchy helps me stay away).

But yah, it's not healthy for your body or good for your spirit to not have a break.

iinkaholic November 7 2011, 22:45:54 UTC

eh, well, i already did it and it turned out okay...but i don't work in a hospital at either job, so it's not quite as fast paced. i wasn't really worn out until around 8 pm, but i made sure to pace myself.
however, that said, i don't think i'll be doing it again for awhile (if ever.)