http://scrubsmag.com/surviving-noc/ Fri, 25 May 2012 00:51:49 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 http://scrubsmag.com/surviving-noc/#comment-2367 genna b. lescabo Thu, 15 Apr 2010 01:52:08 +0000 http://scrubsmag.com/?p=4527#comment-2367 Im soon to become a nurse and hopefully graduate next year. may i ask if there's a chance for me to Work in Canada? thank you Im soon to become a nurse and hopefully graduate next year. may i ask if there’s a chance for me to Work in Canada? thank you

]]> http://scrubsmag.com/surviving-noc/#comment-911 spotgrace Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:47:55 +0000 http://scrubsmag.com/?p=4527#comment-911 I married a Canadian a few years ago and now work and live in Canada. Here the majority of the hospitals work rotating shifts. Ours is two weeks on days followed by two weeks on nights. I find this arcaic. I think it leads to more illness and increased risk of making bad mistakes. This schedule is set in stone and the only way around it is to find a nurse that prefers night shift to day shift and change shifts with them. I have been very successful with this stategy until lately. The nurses that usedto switch with me are off on maternity leave (they get 1 year paid up here) Off with a severe back injury, off on LOA to travel, or have taken other positions in the hospital. I will be 67 next Feb and had planned on working another year or two but now I am planning on retiring very soon. The hospital where I work has a plan where nurses over 55 can take on projects one or two days a week that are easy physically. The positions are posted and I have done some of them. I have suggested that over 55 nurses should be able to pick a shift they prefer and stay with it but no one has responded to that. I have to triple check my work at night to make sure I don't make a bad mistake. The only upside is we are given a two hour break on nights if we are doing12 hours. I sleep on mine. I never had to do rotating shifts in the USA despite doing travel nursing for a few years. After working two night shifts I have a bad migraine for several days. I am frustrated over this. So my answer is to retire and become "casual". Which means I tell them what shifts I can work and if they need me they will give me the shifts. I married a Canadian a few years ago and now work and live in Canada. Here the majority of the hospitals work rotating shifts. Ours is two weeks on days followed by two weeks on nights. I find this arcaic. I think it leads to more illness and increased risk of making bad mistakes. This schedule is set in stone and the only way around it is to find a nurse that prefers night shift to day shift and change shifts with them.
I have been very successful with this stategy until lately. The nurses that usedto switch with me are off on maternity leave (they get 1 year paid up here) Off with a severe back injury, off on LOA to travel, or have taken other positions in the hospital.
I will be 67 next Feb and had planned on working another year or two but now I am planning on retiring very soon. The hospital where I work has a plan where nurses over 55 can take on projects one or two days a week that are easy physically. The positions are posted and I have done some of them. I have suggested that over 55 nurses should be able to pick a shift they prefer and stay with it but no one has responded to that. I have to triple check my work at night to make sure I don’t make a bad mistake. The only upside is we are given a two hour break on nights if we are doing12 hours. I sleep on mine.
I never had to do rotating shifts in the USA despite doing travel nursing for a few years.
After working two night shifts I have a bad migraine for several days. I am frustrated over this. So my answer is to retire and become “casual”. Which means I tell them what shifts I can work and if they need me they will give me the shifts.

]]> http://scrubsmag.com/surviving-noc/#comment-537 Sean Dent Wed, 23 Sep 2009 21:36:10 +0000 http://scrubsmag.com/?p=4527#comment-537 Great tips. I follow the nap suggestion to a Tee. It's a great way to get your body ready for the night as well as trick your mind and body that you just woke up for a shift. I too darken my room to pitch-black as well as use white-noise. Great tips. I follow the nap suggestion to a Tee. It’s a great way to get your body ready for the night as well as trick your mind and body that you just woke up for a shift.
I too darken my room to pitch-black as well as use white-noise.

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