Night nursing Questions!!! PLEASE HELP..

Re: Night nursing Questions!!! PLEASE HELP..

thebeestingbutterfly — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 14:49:34 GMT

Thank you very much for all the replies thats excellent!!!

Had no time recently to get online but i really apreciate the effort you ahve all put in to responding to my thead :)

Yes Caro i got your email- Very usefull!! Thanks guys xxxx

Re: Night nursing Questions!!! PLEASE HELP..

Caro Laithwaite VN — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 20:07:26 GMT

I sent a message direct on night she first posted this Q still no reply so have to assume bsb has either lost interest or internet connection

Re: Night nursing Questions!!! PLEASE HELP..

Jeniflower — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 18:06:59 GMT

Sorry I'm a bit late with my reply!

Ok so we have two night teams each consisting of one staff nurse who manages night shift and two other night nurses.

Team 1: 1 nurse works 6.30pm-6.30am, 2 nurses work 8pm-8am on every Sat, Sun and Mon and every other Tuesday night.

Team 2- : 1 nurse works 6.30pm-6.30am, 2 nurses work 8pm-8am. on Every other Tues and every Weds, Thurs and Fri night.

This equates to 84hours a fortnight. We are not expected to work any overtime. Our salaries are fixed and reflect the hours and the nights that we work. Holiday works out at about 15 nights per year plus extra time off if our night has fallen on a bank holiday.- but no extra pay.

We take all the phone calls and see any consults that we arrange to come down. If necessary, we will call the vet out who stays in the flat overnight next door. We also call the vet out with any concerns regarding inpatients. - We typically have anywhere between 15 - 40 inpatients.

Each team has a night porter who answers the door and keeps an eye on us and the clients for security reasons.

Re: Night nursing Questions!!! PLEASE HELP..

dallinson — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 11:11:02 GMT

Hi my first practice was 24hr, we worked week then came in sat night 7pm working each night til following sat 7pm-8.30am. We stayed in practice and took all calls, called vet in if required. Took care of any inpatients but did not answer the door alone if unsure. Our pay was incorporating these shifts and we did oncall 1:8 generally. No extra time off and no bonuses. Was part of job so just accepted but have worked better night shifts where you are called in and vet does phones, depends on whether you need to do inpatient care or vet does. Good luck, it can be hard adjusting but I found some very interesting cases on night shift and enjoyed them for the most part.

Re: Night nursing Questions!!! PLEASE HELP..

NJ_VN — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 09:38:09 GMT

At my place,basically how we do it is each nurse does one night on a week, this nurse will start at 11,12 or 1pm and work through till 8am the next morning and get that day off.There is only ever 1 nurse in the practice, but a vet on call at home. If theres a call out, no client is allowed inside the building until the vet has arrived for health and safety. also on h&s side, dogs must be taken outside before the last day nurse leaves (at 7pm) an once everyone has left, all doors must be locked. no one is to answer the door when on their own in the building. So we dont have a dedicated night nurse, we all take a turn. on weekends one nurse will be on and gets monday off.

hope tht helps!

Re: Night nursing Questions!!! PLEASE HELP..

Caro Laithwaite VN — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 18:39:57 GMT

BSB l sent a long message last night just checking you got it.

Re: Night nursing Questions!!! PLEASE HELP..

Fuzzyduck — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 17:44:29 GMT

Ive worked nights alot over the years in different practices and different situations.

The first practice i worked at we each had 1 night duty per week usually the same day, and weekends were rota'd so for example my week day was a thursday then i would work 1 in 4 saturday or sunday nights. This was sole charge but quiet so we took the phones, there was no vet on site, we had to check the inpatients at midnight 3am and 7am and were allowed to sleep inbetween and answer any calls. There was a vet on call who we would call in for any emergencies. We did not have to answer the door alone and could wait for the vet to arrive if we wanted to or we could answer the door if we felt safe enough too. We got paid £40 for week nights flat rate and £50 weekend plus overtime and time off in leui for any working time during the night. Not including checking inpatients.

The 2nd place i worked sole nights on a week on week off rota, starting at 7pm to 8.30am there were 2 dedicated night nurses and a vet on site. We were allowed to sleep if quiet but had to do regular inpatient checks and meds. This was a salaried role with bonuses of £5 per call for clients whose calls we took and who came in to the surgery. Overtime was paid at time and a half if we ever had to stay late, but as the day staff came in at 8am this rarely happened.

The 3rd practice i worked at was far busier we had 3 nurses until about midnight 2 nurses until 4am and one until the day staff arrived at 7am. There was also a vet on site. This was a non sleeping role. Paid by the hour with overtime just at time if you were needed to stay late. The rota was 4 on 4 off with 6 dedicated night nurses working opposite each other.

Hope that helps