What is a Nursing Rotational Schedule and How Does It Affect Nurses

1. What is a Nursing Rotational Schedule and How Does It Affect Nurses?

2. Table of contents  What is a Nursing Rotational Schedule and How Does It Affect Nurses?  How to Deal with a Student Nurse Management Placement  Coping with Stress in a Nursing Clinical Rotation Schedule

3. What is a Nursing Rotational Schedule and How Does It Affect Nurses? In many ways, nursing is a whole different world from the one that the rest of the population experiences. One of the major ways that it differs from everyone else’s is the way that nurses are scheduled. Nurses are far more likely to envy the hours of a regular job than vice-versa. The regular job that most people have is a simple, nine-to-five shift Monday to Friday. There are people with more difficult shifts that might be on evenings and weekends, but their schedules are usually set according to certain rules. Not only that, but most workers can state that they can’t work on nights, weekends or certain other undesirable times.

4. This is not so for nurses. They can work a twelve-hour shift during the night one day and another twelve-hour shift during the morning and afternoon the next. As a result, life can be very hectic for nurses who need to cope with shifting work schedules. Here are a few ways to make that shift work a little easier: Find a way to get sleep whenever you can. This might seem like an obvious tip, but it’s also one of the most important. The more worn down a body gets from lack of sleep, the harder it is to function. The idea of simply doing without sleep is a sure way for accidents to happen both on the job and at home, or worse, on the way home.

5. Shift work does throw off sleeping patterns, but it’s important to remember that the body still needs sleep and to get a good eight hours in whenever one can. The consequences of not doing so results in sleep deficits which lead to health problems and no job is worth that. Find the time to sleep! Keep hydrated. Everyone always remembers to grab that cup of coffee or espresso, but they rarely think about that bottle of water. The body needs water more than caffeine or even food. The truth is the body is actually designed to work without food for short periods of time, but dehydration is something that it can’t handle for very long. So, always have a bottle of water on hand!

6. Keep yourself organized. The biggest issue with shift rotation is having to keep it all straight! This is a far more difficult job for a nurse than most people realize because they usually don’t have the time to organize everything, but it still must be done. This is the point where technology becomes a nurse’s best friend. Getting a daily planner and rotation manager app is the best way to ensure that shifts aren’t mixed up or missed. This one is a no-brainer as a tired mind is more likely to miss a shift or mix one up for another. So, those apps take care of the organization and allow nurses to concentrate on what they need to do: nursing! There are many things that a nurse has to do in their complex home and work lives, but at least these few things ideas help to make things easier on them.

7. How to Deal with a Student Nurse Management Placement Getting a placement student is always a great honor for a nurse as it is a show of trust from the administration that the mentor-nurseis trusted, responsible, and most importantly, proficient in their position to warrant such a responsibility. This is also a busy and stressful time for the student which needs to be taken into consideration. Having said that, always realize that being a sign-off nurse for a student involves a few tricks to ensuring that the student graduates past that final hurdle. Have a pep talk – This sounds like something from a nineteen eighties sitcom, but it is important to do. Having a five minute talk at the beginning of a placement is invaluable because it lets the student know where the nurse stands and vice-versa. This is the opportunity for the managing nurse to let their charge know that the placement isn’t a rubber stamp process.

8. The student nurse needs to know that the nurse isn’t there to sign-off and let them into the workforce without gauging their ability. This major step isn’t a quick cup of tea and a signature. It’s an important pass or fail test to find out if the student has what it takes to be a full time nurse. The only way to do that is with real hands-on practical experience and they need to know that. Be patient – Keep in mind that a student has had a lot of study and teaching, but little in the way of practical experience in the field. That means that they’re going to make mistakes. Count on it, but be patient with them. They are there, after all, to continue learning. So, be informative and helpful whenever they make a mistake, because that’s the way to ensure that they don’t make the same mistake again!

9. Be Firm – This goes along with being decisive. This is an opportunity for student nurses to learn, and a mentor-nurse who can’t seem to make a decision and is a little too easy-going can send the wrong message. It can also set a student-nurse onto a path of bad habits. Don’t be a Door Mat –There’s such a thing as being too hard on someone but there’s also such a thing as being too lax. A student nurse is a responsibility that requires a firm hand, but a mentor can also be a friend. Friends make a shift fly by and have a host of advantages. But, there is such a thing as being a bad friend. If a student nurse decides to take advantage of that friendship and walk all over someone, then they’re showing bad form from the get-go. In that situation, don’t be a doormat, let the person know what they’re doing is manipulative and inappropriate.

10. Show Them How to be Organized – Organization is one of the greatest things a mentor can teach a student when it comes to nursing. Getting a student nurse introduced to all of those good habits, and good organizational software is one of the first things that should be done to get them started on the right foot!

11. Coping with Stress in a Nursing Clinical Rotation Schedule When a nurse starts into a regular nursing rotational schedule, the hours and the work can cause a lot of stress, which one needs to cope with. It’s normal to be a little nervous at a new job, but rotational shifts combined with patients and an unfamiliar nursing staff can be a lot to handle. Here are some tips on how to cope with stress during a rotational schedule. Stay Calm – This sounds like some of the most obvious advice that one could expect to hear, but it’s especially good advice for nurses. Things can change quickly in the nursing profession and it’s best to keep on top of it by not letting the situation get the best of one’s self. There are many different techniques to staying calm under pressure including counting back from ten, closing one’s eyes and taking a deep breath, but whatever is the best solution for each person is what should be used.

12. Not only that, but it’s best to figure out the best stress-relief techniques for one’s self before that first day on the job! It’s also important to remember that the entire hospital doesn’t depend on one new staff member. Always keep in mind that this is a group effort and that everything doesn’t rest on one person’s shoulders. Stay Focused – There could be a hundred things going on in the background, but if a patient needs the help of a nurse, then that is their sole care, unless a superior changes that. It’s not easy to keep out someone screaming in pain, but it’s important to keep focused on the task at hand. Again, this is an issue of other people on the team knowing what they’re doing, so stay focused on the task that’s been assigned.

13. Manage Your Time – There will be days worked and others not. There will be shifts at night and then during the day. This is pretty normal and would be a challenge for anyone. The best solution to this is to have a day organizer, or better yet, a rotational manager app to simplify things. Smile – This is true for the nurse, the staff they work with, and the patients they help. Smiling is good for the patients in that it reassures them that everything will be fine and that there’s nothing to worry about. Do it even when there is something to worry about!

14. This is true for the staff in that other staff members need to be cheered up and it helps the general mood to be a little lighter. Think of it this way: it’s better than everyone frowning all the time or looking worried! Most importantly, smiling is better for the nurse in question. There is evidence to say that smiling actually improves one’s own mood and feeling of self- worth. Not only that, but it has a number of positive effects, including a better immune system and a longer lifeexpectancy. Above all, always remember that each shift is just that, it’s just one period of time that will end. With a few positive changes to a person’s approach, that shift can be a positive experience.