Advice and Resources for Night Shift Nurses

Podcast Transcript

[00:00:00] Carol Pehotsky: About everyone encounters working night shift at some point in their nursing career. While that shift certainly poses challenge to sleep cycles, among other things, it can also afford nurses the opportunities to work truly at the top of their license while forming strong bonds within the rest of the interprofessional team.

[00:00:20] I'm joined today by Roberta Snyder to talk more about her tips and tricks for successful night shift.

[00:00:28] Hi, and welcome to Nurse Essentials, a Cleveland Clinic podcast where we discuss all things nursing from patient care to advancing your career, to navigating tough on the job issues. We're so glad you're here. I'm your host, Carol Poky, associate Chief Nursing Officer of Surgical Services Nursing.

[00:00:49] Welcome back everyone. Today we're talking about night shift nursing. Whew. I definitely have a few experiences in this in the early days of my career. If, if you've been listening from the beginning, you know that my husband's a nurse and before he became a nurse and he was working in healthcare, when I first met him, he was working straight nights for almost 30 years, actually, in total of his career.

[00:01:11] So when I worked at Lutheran as a behavioral health tech, and then when I transitioned to my first nursing role, I worked nights as well. Especially when in applying for positions and the position that I was ultimately selected for, it was shared with me that people rotated and that sounded completely impossible to manage.

[00:01:27] And we'll spend a little bit of time talking about that, but I said, oh, I'd rather do straight nights. And they looked at me like I was crazy. But really for my life at the time and aligning my schedule to my husband, it really made the most sense. And., I look back on those days really fondly the autonomy that, that I was forwarded.

[00:01:44] There were several of us that worked straight nights, and so the, the camaraderie with that team. And I was a new grad and had the fortune to be surrounded by people who were worked straight night shift nurses that had a wealth of experience.

[00:01:55] But I clearly wasn't managing it physiologically as well as I thought, uh, you know, I, I switched to more of an evening shift role and suddenly the nonstop headache and nausea were gone and I was a much nicer person to be around. And so, although I remember it fondly, clearly, I didn't manage it as well as I could have.

[00:02:11] So with that, it's my great pleasure to introduce you all to Roberta Snyder. Roberta is a nurse at Lutheran Hospital's emergency Department.

[00:02:18] She currently is an assistant nurse manager and has many years of experience on night shift nursing. So, I know you're going to give us all the tips and tricks. Welcome.

[00:02:25] Roberta Snyder: Yes. Thank you for having me. I'm excited to be here.

[00:02:27] Carol Pehotsky: Great. So lovely to have you. So, to kick us off. Can you share with our audience a little bit about your nursing journey thus far and where it's taken you?

[00:02:34] Roberta Snyder: So, I actually started down here at the main campus on J five one in 20 16. I started in the cardiac step-down unit. I was hired in as a rotating shift as well. That was that; that gave me a run for my money. So, so I asked about six months into that job to go to straight nights. So, I worked in total down on five one for probably about close to two years.

[00:02:53] I left main campus, did a little bit of travel nursing, found out that wasn't uh, for me and that's okay. So then...

[00:03:00] Carol Pehotsky: That's a different episode.

[00:03:00] Roberta Snyder: So then, so then I came back to Cleveland, and I want, was looking for something new. So, I applied to the Lutheran Emergency Room. And I've been there since 2018.

[00:03:09] Carol Pehotsky: Fantastic.

[00:03:09] Roberta Snyder: And then just in the last year, I've accepted the job as the evening assistant nurse manager there.

[00:03:15] Carol Pehotsky: Oh, congratulations.

[00:03:15] Roberta Snyder: So, yes, thank you.

[00:03:16] Carol Pehotsky: And what can I do, those are probably some nights as well. What kind of hours are those?

[00:03:20] Roberta Snyder: Yeah, so I started nights at Lutheran, did nights at Lutheran for probably another year or two.

[00:03:24] And then now my shift currently is one, 1:00 PM to 1:00 AM So I do.

[00:03:28] Carol Pehotsky: Like half flavors of both.

[00:03:29] Roberta Snyder: Yeah, I, I get a good mix for sure.

[00:03:32] Carol Pehotsky: So a lot of us do work night shift at some point in our career. I don't think I've ever met a nurse who's worked, at least in the acute care setting, who hasn't done some flavor of, of nights or rotating. Other than the dread of rotating, what motivated you and what kept you on nights all that time?

[00:03:47] Roberta Snyder: Truthfully, it's the teamwork and I feel like my friends, I feel like I was hired in to my first job with other new grads that were also on night shift, and it gave me like an opportunity to get to know them better. And even though like some of the shifts were hard, it was fun at the end of the day.

[00:04:04] I mean, I feel like we all got to know each other well and you, I could always look out the room or down the hall and I would have a friendly face to help me. And then same with working night shift at Lutheran. I kind of wanted that same experience, especially being new there. [Mm-hmm.] Um, get to know my coworkers well, you kind of have time to also get to know the physicians well, you get to know the respiratory therapist well, you get to know the, you know, uh, physician assistants well. And I just felt like it really builds that like team, and I like that like close-knit feel [yeah] in, in a working environment. I feel like night shift offers that.

[00:04:33] Carol Pehotsky: Absolutely. So, knowing that, you know, how night shift shows up depends largely on the patients you serve and the types of unit you have.

[00:04:41] What did a typical night shift look like for you in terms of what the night held for you and your colleagues?

[00:04:46] Roberta Snyder: So, working in the ER, I would come in at 7:00 PM and then I would generally be up in like our split flow or triage area [mm-hmm] for about two, two to like four hours. So that's kind of more of like our urgent care area or like fast track.

[00:04:58] So then I would take care of the patients up there and then around like 10 or 11:00 PM I would come back to a medical assignment and take like four to five patients as a medical assignment for the rest of the night then.

[00:05:07] And then as you know, like working night shift sometimes like the staff kind of slims down. [Yeah.] So then, you know, me and the other medical nurses would kind of help still run like the triage area too, if needed, depending on like the volume.

[00:05:19] Carol Pehotsky: Sure. So, let's linger there because yeah, no matter where you're working night shift, that the staffing mix looks different. Mm-hmm. So, if we're talking to somebody who's rotating or they're coming to night shift and they're worried about having what could seem like less support, talk to me a little bit about how those supports show up in different ways in night shift.

[00:05:36] Roberta Snyder: So, I think you just always kind of have to remember you know, you're not really by yourself, even though it does feel like that sometimes. I feel like it's good to remember there's always someone to call, whether that is the nurse next to you or in the next assignment, or you always, always have to remember too, you can call on your assistant nurse manager if they are in the evening.

[00:05:54] Um, you can always call the NAM. Sometimes I would just call the ICU if I had a question. [Sure.] I would just call the ICU and say, hey, I don't know this piece of equipment. Can you either have a minute to come down or can you tell me quick over the phone how that would work?

[00:06:07] And then I just feel like you have to remember kind of like your resources. So, you could call pharmacy if you have a medication question you can call respiratory to have, if you have a respiratory question, I feel like, generally, people are more than willing to help. You just have to remember who is available to answer.

[00:06:22] Carol Pehotsky: And asking your colleagues too, if you're not sure who is involved.

[00:06:24] Roberta Snyder: Right, right.

[00:06:24] Carol Pehotsky: Yeah. Yeah, it's just because the resource isn't physically on the unit with you. All these departments are 24-7 as well and are available. They want to answer your questions. They don't want you to guess.

[00:06:34] Roberta Snyder: And then also, sorry, just one more thing. Thing. I also feel like two people forget about things like the Today page in Lip and Cut. So, if you have, feel like you have a minute to look it up, you can always use our resources just online that the clinic offers.

[00:06:45] Carol Pehotsky: Yeah. We have great resources at Cleveland Clinic, and if you're listening from another organization, I'm confident that your organization also has your policies, your procedures, and other resources.

[00:06:55] Find those out, make sure you know where those are so that yeah, you're, you're not seeing somebody in your face ready to help there's still something available to you. I think that's a great point about knowing your resources.

[00:07:04] So we've touched on a couple, but in your opinion, the biggest advantages and disadvantages of working the night shift?

[00:07:10] Roberta Snyder: So, kind of like I was talking about originally, I really do like that family feel to the staff on night shift. I feel like you do have time to get to know people a bit better. Just because also the patients aren't moving as much, so you're not trying to like keep track of your patient, essentially. They're usually,

[00:07:25] Carol Pehotsky: they're not going to appointments necessarily. Right?

[00:07:27] Roberta Snyder: Yeah. So, I feel like sometimes that alleviates a little bit of a burden on you, so you do have time to, you know, talk to your coworkers a little bit more.

[00:07:34] I also feel like sometimes just like getting to know the, like doctors [mm-hmm] like the doctors better. I feel like I didn't really have that opportunity as strongly on day shift, even though they did round. But the doctors are also, you know, have their own patient list. Mm-hmm. So, they don't have sometimes to talk to get to know you, which is fine. So, I felt like the doctors were a little bit more like available to talk and, and to teach as vice versa.

[00:07:55] Carol Pehotsky: Oh sure.

[00:07:55] Roberta Snyder: Like there was like a lot of, you know, physicians I've worked with who would explain things at the bedside. You know, if we are, we're in a rapid or whatever. So, I think that is a huge advantage that the doctors have a little bit more time to explain things to you. [Mm-hmm.] Um, which is helpful.

[00:08:09] The disadvantage I would feel like sometimes is the sleep schedules. Sometimes I felt like that was rough for me [Sure] to get like accommodated to. And truthfully, it kind of still is, honestly. So, the sleep set schedule.

[00:08:21] And then sometimes I felt like the night shifts I was hired into the teams, had a lot of new grads. So even though you are getting to know your coworkers well sometimes if, if I don't know the answer, then they also don't know the answer. So, I felt like the experience level of nursing was a little bit lacking on night shift. So, then I would have to generally more call the NAM if I had questions that my coworkers couldn't answer.

[00:08:43] Carol Pehotsky: Well, and I know, you know, both at Cleveland Clinic and, and across certainly the, the area, if not the hiring managers are really looking into that mix, knowing that, you know, a lot of people they get to a certain seniority and they transition off of nights, but really trying to keep some of that experience at the night shift level so that there is that resource person to support everybody.

[00:09:04] So let's talk about sleep. What are some things that worked for you? What are some things you tried that didn't work? What are you still working through to try to get it solved?

[00:09:12] Roberta Snyder: I felt like it was very difficult for me to sleep during the day just at all. So, once I found blackout curtains, yeah, that was like a game changer. I felt like so highly recommended. I mean, I just got mine off Amazon. Any type of blackout curtain is essential. I feel like.

[00:09:27] And then I also feel like too, I didn't really start using this till more recently, but my do not disturb setting on my phone. [Sure.] Because the outside world doesn't sleep like we do. So, to know I wasn't like getting woken up then with like phone calls or text messages or, you know, emails. So that also really helped un- interrupt my sleep.

[00:09:44] Truthfully, I guess the rest, I'm still kind of figuring it out. Like I, I would try not to have a cup of coffee like any time after like 2:00 AM [Okay] because I'm like fairly sensitive to caffeine. [Sure.] So that was like kind of my cutoff.

[00:09:55] And then I generally just go to bed right when I get home from a shift. That seems to be like best for me. I know some nurses would kind of mention like, they would take like melatonin or like other sleep aids. [Mm-hmm.] I'm just not like personally a big fan of those. It.

[00:10:08] Carol Pehotsky: Each person's different.

[00:10:09] Roberta Snyder: Yeah. Yeah. But I know a lot of nurses do that. And then I feel like also with night shift, I just have become used to taking naps too.

[00:10:15] Carol Pehotsky: And that was something, I've never been a good napper, so probably since I was a baby. So that for me was a real struggle. But I think you're absolutely right is that, you know, you're looking at the span of time. And, and can I sneak some sleep in there somewhere? What about on your days off? What do you do for your sleep schedule on your days off?

[00:10:30] Roberta Snyder: So, on my days off, I would try to flip back to day shift. Yeah. I, I was never one of those girls that could be like, oh, I'm just going to stay straight nights, even when I'm off. That just never really appealed to me.

[00:10:39] So for flipping back to day shift, if it was my last night shift of work, I would come home, you know, go to bed, probably try around 8:30 AM right? And then I would set an alarm for like 12 or one. And then I would try to be at least awake. Sometimes I wasn't getting out of bed at 12 or one, but, but

[00:10:55] Carol Pehotsky: Eyes were open.

[00:10:55] Roberta Snyder: But, but I, I was up and so, and then I would try to get up and go about my day, you know, eat dinner and run around a little bit. And then I would just try to go to bed closer to like 10 or 11:00 PM so I would kind of be back on schedule then, for lack of a better word.

[00:11:11] Carol Pehotsky: Well, and, and looking, you know, knowing that there's a better approach than my approach had been. You know, that's really in line with a lot of what the research shows about, like sort of anchoring a portion every day saying, I'm always going to try to sleep from nine to noon, whether I've worked or not, trying to build that recurring schedule into your body.

[00:11:26] But yeah, it's definitely not easy. Yeah, I, I think about how do you train your friends and family?

[00:11:32] Roberta Snyder: I know, I, I never really figured that part out, honestly. I, that was still a struggle, but that's okay. Yeah.

[00:11:38] Carol Pehotsky: I'm old enough that there weren't cell phones when I was working nights, so the awareness that for me, calling at one in the afternoon was incredibly inconvenient was. So, I, it's, it's so good that there are ways that you can set your devices to, you still can get that emergency phone call, but to know that that's the only thing getting through. Yeah.

[00:11:54] And the other thing I find interesting looking back on it is that, you know, I work a day now. I'm not going to bed 30 minutes after I get home from work. And yet I think that's just comes with the nature of I have to go to bed right when I get home. So, what have you done to try to unwind a little bit so that your body can really be ready for that sleep?

[00:12:14] Roberta Snyder: I generally try to read. Other times I would try to like lower the music a little bit to kind of relax.

[00:12:19] Sometimes like the loud noises of the radio would also like amp me up more with like the [Sure.] You know, the dreaded alarm fatigue we're all [yeah] aware of. So, then I would try to like kind of listen to like soft music on the way home. And then I would generally try to read just to like relax for a little bit. [Nice.] So that seemed to help.

[00:12:34] Carol Pehotsky: Yeah. You know, certainly, and I remember people saying it to me when I worked nights, you don't want to lose that connection to, to your family and to your friends or I, I spend my whole life sleeping. So, what advice do you have in terms of maintaining those relationships but also getting the sleep you need?

[00:12:49] Roberta Snyder: I feel like at the end of the day, you really have to be aware of yourself. Like, I know that if I do not sleep for X amount of time if I go see my family later or my friends later, I will not be any fun at, at this time. So if they want, let's just say if, if they want to do something the day after my shift, but I know I need X amount of hours to sleep, I will say, I'm so sorry I cannot come this day but do you mind rescheduling for the next day if that, if that is available?

[00:13:15] Obviously sometimes it is not because life, right? [Mm-hmm.] So sometimes I will just try to adjust my sleep schedule if I can. I will either try to sleep longer so I have that time. So like I'll ask them to do something later and be like, Hey, you know, I really can't get breakfast or lunch with you, but I would love to get dinner, or I would love to meet up for a happy hour.

[00:13:34] Because I cannot make it to this 11:00 AM appointment you want me to come to. But if you did it at two o'clock or three o'clock, I am going to get up at one o'clock in the afternoon anyway, so I will be there.

[00:13:44] So I just feel like it's kind of a give and take. [Mm-hmm.] And knowing yourself and knowing how much sleep you need to get to be functional and enjoyable to be around, so.

[00:13:55] Carol Pehotsky: So back to the actual work of night shift. Any strategies you have for maintaining that alertness and awareness during the shift? Like you mentioned, I couldn't do caffeine much after 2:00 AM either.

[00:14:07] So in absence of pounding caffeine all night, what are some things that you would do that would really help make sure that you were mentally clear and totally focused on your patients, even though it's 4:00 AM?

[00:14:18] Roberta Snyder: Yeah, I feel like 4:00 AM really is the time where you kind [witching hour] Yeah. Hit the wall a little bit. Yeah. So generally, I think I would mostly just try to walk around because I wouldn't drink caffeine like you said. I would either try to walk around, kind of poking on, in my patients. Working in the ER, I would try to stock the unit. [Mm-hmm.] Or I would, you know, take out linen bags.

[00:14:37] So I would mostly just try to walk around. [Mm-hmm.] Because I felt like when they turn the lights down on night shift too, right?

[00:14:42] Carol Pehotsky: For the patients. Yeah. But it's hard for the caregivers.

[00:14:44] Roberta Snyder: Uh, so that was also a little rough.

[00:14:46] So, so I, I really just try to stay moving, I guess. Sure. If I could, I mean once the charting's done. Or sometimes if I was using a Wow, sometimes I would just raise it all the way up, so I was standing then.

[00:14:56] Carol Pehotsky: So, we, we talked a little bit about the communication, but talk to me a little bit more about, you know, what really is key to forming those relationships with your colleagues?

[00:15:05] And sometimes you have to develop skills that maybe doesn't have the opportunity to experience in day shift. Like I think about way back when I worked nights, we didn't have wound care ostomy nurses at night. And so, if something went wrong with somebody's ostomy bag or their negative pressure wound therapy. I had the opportunity to learn how to do that, and then I could do those things.

[00:15:24] So what advice would you give to nurses who might have to expand their skillset a little bit from what they learned in nursing school? Or how did they tap into their colleagues' experience?

[00:15:33] Roberta Snyder: I guess um, I'm of the, my mindset where like I have to see something done once and, and then I would like to do it [mm-hmm] for like learning purposes. So, I guess if you are able to, I would like suggest that you find someone that has done it at least once or twice before. [Sure.] Whether that be a physician, assistant manager, the NAM.

[00:15:49] And like I said, I mean, where I work now at Lutheran, our ICU team is really pretty good. So sometimes they don't mind coming down and showing us something [nice] or vice versa [mm-hmm] us going up there. And you know me like I'm not very familiar with A lines myself.

[00:16:03] So like I, like we've had more education come into the ER from our nursing education team and we brought that up to management. Like, hey, I need [nice] like education on X, Y, Z. And so, we don't get a lot of peds at Lutheran, and so we have asked for more, more pediatric education to come in.

[00:16:17] So I've talked to management about getting more education [mm-hmm] into the ER and then asking or trying to find that opportunity to see it once or twice before, then I can hopefully try to do it.

[00:16:28] Carol Pehotsky: Excellent.

[00:16:29] Roberta Snyder: And then some of our policies are really pretty descriptive. [Yes.] About what, about what, what the steps are exactly. So sometimes I, I also just print it [mm-hmm] and then have it next to me while I am going through it.

[00:16:40] Carol Pehotsky: Yeah. Always a good resource. So, to lean into that more. I think sometimes there's a misunderstanding that working nights means that you're not going to get opportunities to be on shared governance or to be on committees or to get an education.

[00:16:52] So talk to me a little bit more about how throughout your career you've advocated for being able to be part of the voice of the unit and to be educated.

[00:17:00] Roberta Snyder: My management team has started making the education time from 6:00 AM to 8:00 AM [Nice.] So, whether if you're on shift, you can just stay on shift, and which is very helpful.

[00:17:09] And then for like committee wise, for shared governance specifically. Some of the shared governance meetings have been like breakfast meetings. So, they would schedule the meeting at like, you know, 8:00 AM down at one of the restaurants in the area. And so, we would go after shift and meet for, you know, X amount of time to discuss the unit.

[00:17:25] And then also, I'm not sure if this is across the board, but there's quite at night committee. [Mm-hmm.] generally. So that is also very strongly geared towards night shift, obviously.

[00:17:33] Carol Pehotsky: Sure. Making sure patients can rest at night.

[00:17:35] Roberta Snyder: Yeah. So that, that was always helpful to have that one in my back pocket.

[00:17:38] Carol Pehotsky: Wonderful. So, no matter where you're listening from, if you are a night shift nurse, you know, your voice is very important. And I do think as we've matured as a profession, I know a lot of leaders spend time thinking about, you know, the 24 7 needs of their nurses and their nursing unit not solely focused on day shift. But if you're on one of those night shifts, the best thing you do is speak up for yourself, right?

[00:18:00] Roberta Snyder: Yeah. I mean, they're not going to know what you need unless you say something. Yeah. So, I mean, at the very least, if you don't see your management team face to face every other day or whenever you can always send an email. My manager also has a phone available so you can text the phone. She might not get back to you at, you know, 3:00 AM. [Sure.] Which is acceptable. But I mean, generally they would respond, you know, the next day or the day after.

[00:18:19] Carol Pehotsky: So now you're an assistant nurse manager role, but you, you have been that night shift worker. What would you say to leaders that are listening in terms of how they can best support evening and night shift caregivers?

[00:18:30] Roberta Snyder: So, I actually took this position in the evening as the ANM because I felt like a lot of our new hires were starting on night shift, and I really like to educate. Hmm. I really like to precept, and I really like to orient. So, my suggestion to new leaders would be just to be available. A lot of the times I just round on the unit if I'm not in staffing.

[00:18:48] I just continually will ask the new grads, you know, do you need anything? Are you feeling okay? Do you have any questions? And more often than not, they stop me and say, yeah, I have X, Y, Z. Or for example, we just did a Foley irrigation, and the new caregiver had had never done one before and so, you know, I was like walking her through that.

[00:19:05] My advice would just to essentially just be available. [Mm-hmm.] Just be available for as a resource. I feel like, you know, you're in this position now because you have so much experience. [Mm-hmm.] And so, I feel like that experience is needed.

[00:19:16] Carol Pehotsky: So back in my day, which was a long time ago, but there was sometimes some friction between days and nights and so I hope that's better now. But from your perspective, what can each shift learn from each other? And when it comes to handoff and communication and really painting the picture of welcome day shift nurses, here's how wild last night was, or here's what happens, what, what advice would you give for each shift to make sure you're not getting that friction between shifts?

[00:19:43] Roberta Snyder: It'd be like, okay, so the shifts are seven to seven, right? [Mm-hmm.] So, it'd be about 6:30, so I would kind of go through all my patients’ charts and I would just try to, for lack of a better word, like clean them up as best as I could. [Mm-hmm.] Make sure all the tasks were completed.

[00:19:54] And I know this is a 24 7 job, but when you're giving report, I always feel like it's kind of best to pass off a report that is kind of, has either a to-do list of what needs to be done for the day or, you know, could not get completed or I feel like that kind of like sets the stage a little bit better for day shift. It kind of, you know, you give the report on why they're here and then you give the report of like basically what needs to be done still.

[00:20:16] So that's kind of how I have tried to orient people. I, you know, tell them to be aware of the clock, we all have to go home, so and so, you have to kind of be aware of what like is pending that needs to be passed along. [Mm-hmm.] So that way, the day shift doesn't need to be scrambling to find what, like I might have missed or what I, you know, could not complete.

[00:20:36] I would just try to review the orders [mm-hmm] before I give report. I feel like that is helpful. And then since, like, if I was in charge, if there was like stuff that had, you know, wasn't working overnight or we ran out overnight, you know, certain people aren't there to take care of it. [Right.]

[00:20:51] Um, so, so I would also kind of have a, a list in my head of what's passed along to the charge nurse of what needs to be completed, or can you take this to management? Or like I said, I would just send an email. [Mm-hmm.] Uh, you know, I didn't get to this checkoff, this was out of stock. Can you [mm-hmm] you know, make sure to follow up with that.

[00:21:08] So. I feel like just painting them a clear picture [Yeah] helps.

[00:21:11] Carol Pehotsky: Well, and at the end of the day, we're all human. We're all doing the best we can. Whether that's night shift or day shift. And it's, it's really acknowledging, and you hope that that's probably a good thing that comes out of rotating is a, is at least I've been there on both shifts, and I know that both of them are hard in their own ways.

[00:21:24] Roberta Snyder: Yeah. I also feel like sometimes, I know it's easy for us to do because we have long days as nurses, but to try to take out that, you know, oh my God, you'll never believe what happened today. Like [sure] yeah, like, like sometimes I would try to just get the report and like what the most important stuff is first, and then I can talk to my friend after and be like, oh my gosh, guess also what happened.

[00:21:45] But like if, so like if you start their day on a bad foot, sometimes it can ruin their day, you know? So, I try to focus on what is needed and then discuss things after.

[00:21:56] Carol Pehotsky: That's perfect advice. So, so yeah, you've set up that day shift nurse for success, right? And now you're back.

[00:22:02] Roberta Snyder: Yeah. So, we're, we're still here.

[00:22:03] Carol Pehotsky: What can day shift nurses do to equally help set up that night shift for success?

[00:22:07] Roberta Snyder: Specifically in the ER I feel like it is helpful to restock the equipment and empty the laundry baskets. I know it's like a little thing, but it goes a long way when you are in an emergency and there's not the correct supplies in the room. [Sure.] because I'm sure there was an emergency earlier in the day in that room, but I'm sure everyone was busy, but if it's never restocked now it's my problem too.

[00:22:31] So I feel like the biggest way to set night shift up for success is to have everything kind of like prepped. And then also same thing with giving like a thorough report.

[00:22:40] Especially with being in like split flow or triage area, there's a lot of moving parts up there, so it's helpful to, for them to have like a thorough report on the patients up there so they know where to pick up in like the progression of patients.

[00:22:52] Carol Pehotsky: So, before we call it a day, I'm hoping I can ask you a few fun questions so our audience can get to know you a little bit more as a human being, as well as an amazing nurse.

[00:22:59] So first question, you finished that tough shift. It's time for you to unwind and do something for yourself. How do you take care of yourself? What's your go-to?

[00:23:09] Roberta Snyder: A couple different things. On my day off, I like to unwind with like puzzles. Games essentially. I recently just got a Nintendo Switch, so

[00:23:18] Carol Pehotsky: Oh, fun.

[00:23:18] Roberta Snyder: So, I have, you know, a little game or two I play on there. I kind of like try to like to take my mind off of things. [Mm-hmm.] Also, I'm a big fan of baths or hot showers. So, and then I also really love just being outside. Like, I feel like having that space outside to be either in your backyard or, you know, at the park. I really enjoy being outside.

[00:23:38] Carol Pehotsky: And you know, this year we've spent a lot of time at Cleveland Clinic talking about purpose and our why. Could you please share with our audience what your why is?

[00:23:46] Roberta Snyder: Or like my why has kind of evolved, I guess, as my career has gone on. So, I originally got into nursing school and chose this profession because my family has like health problems.

[00:23:57] And so I've seen my aunts and my uncles, and my grandparents go through, you know, different disease processes. And so, I feel like unintentionally, I'm like a caregiver. [Mm-hmm] at heart. [Mm-hmm.] And so, I feel like I was always interested in kind of like assisting with their care, and so that is why I originally got into nursing.

[00:24:16] That hasn't changed, I guess. But I feel like my why has just also progressed because I feel like now I truly love being a patient advocate. I feel like our, our patients come in and specifically in the emergency room, I feel like sometimes patients come in by themselves a lot. And whether that is like a lack of healthcare education, people just don't know things about either their medicine or their diet or their disease process.

[00:24:38] So I mentioned earlier that I really enjoy educating. So, I feel like my why now has transitioned into being, you know, an advocate for the patient and being like, hey, this person won't be able to get to their appointment tomorrow. I need the scheduler to come in the room and help them schedule this to a time where they can make it to their appointment.

[00:24:55] So I guess my why has turned into now patient advocating and education. So, I feel like that's why I'm here.

[00:25:01] Carol Pehotsky: Wonderful. Our, our patients are all the better for it. Thank you so much for joining me today.

[00:25:04] Roberta Snyder: Yeah. Thank you for having me.

[00:25:09] Carol Pehotsky: As always thanks so much for joining us for today's discussion. Don't miss out, subscribe to hear new episodes wherever you get your podcasts. And remember, we want to hear from you. Do you have ideas for future podcasts or want to share your stories? Email us at Nurse essentials@ccf.org. To learn more about nursing at Cleveland Clinic, please check us out @clevelandclinic.org/nursing.

[00:25:36] Until next time, take care of yourselves and take care of each other.

[00:25:43] The information in this podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute medical or legal advice. Consult your local state boards of nursing for any specific practice questions.