My First 12 hour Night Shift

Well, when they call it the graveyard shift, they really weren't kidding. Last night was a great first night on the floor and I really enjoyed all the precious kiddos that I was with. But I tell you what, I've got major respect for those that work all night long. It's the weirdest thing because when you arrive at work, you are busy like crazy trying to get all of your assessments, meds, linen changes and anything that will be therapeutic done with the patients before they go to sleep. Then it is bedtime and the whole hospital shuts down, so to speak, and you still have to sit there of course and watch the clock pass by until the next required thing comes up. Of course the clock watching could go faster if there were something wrong and things got busy, but that would be awful and no nurse wants that to happen. And then I felt so weird having to go into all the rooms every 4 hours in the dark to do my vitals, change diapers, and then draw morning labs. I feel so intrusive to the patient and parents and feel like the hospital is anything but restful. But then again, the kiddos are so sick that you just have to check to make sure everything is ok. So anyhow, it was a good first shift. I really like my preceptor and she is a great teacher, so I'm looking forward to learning more from her. The only downside is that my sleep schedule is obviously way off and I've already had my first migraine from the transition. I'd definitely appreciate prayers for this as it will be hard to go back and forth and try to uphold some normalcy in the mean time. So one shift down and many, many to go!