For Locums
FINDING LOCUM WORK
Overview
See how we help find you your perfect locum
How Messly works
A step-by-step guide to using Messly
Browse Jobs
See what locum jobs are available
Resources for locum doctors
The Locum Hub
POPULAR
Our top resources for finding locum work
Compare Locum Agencies
See ratings and testimonials of locum agencies
Locum Salary Calculator
POPULAR
See how much you can earn as a locum
Locum Rates Breakdown
Learn how much you can earn as a locum doctor
The Locum Academy
NEW
Rapid answers to common locum questions
The Locum Toolkit
Useful resources, services and tools for locums
Need help?
Contact Us
For F3s
For f3 doctors
F3 Hub
All our best F3 resources in one place
F3 Options
Learn about your best options for F3
How To Write The Perfect F3 CV
Our top tips for CV writing for F3s
The F3 Workbook
Our workbook to help you plan your F3
Guide To Australia
Read our Down Under guide
For Trainees
For trainees
Training Navigator
Discover the best-ranked FP rotations
Foundation Training Guides
All our guides and breakdowns for FT
Blog
Hiring Doctors
HIRING DOCTORS
For Locum Agencies
Get active locum doctors on-demand
For Healthcare Organisations
Great doctors for your business
Speak to our team
Contact Us
More
MORE
Portfolio Companion
NEW
How to structure and build your portfolio
About Us
Learn about the team behind Messly
Contact Us
Get in touch with our team
Login
Register
Login
Register
December 2022
July 30, 2018

How To Survive A Night Shift As A F1

I started my set of nights very early, within a few weeks of F1. And though I wasn’t particularly happy about it, I reconciled with the fact that it could have been worse. If this is you and you’ve looked at the rota with horror, I hope you’ll find this post useful. Take what you think is relevant and throw the rest away. I’ve split it up into before, during and after so it makes more sense.

‍

Before

  • People have different ways they like to handle the day/night before a night shift. Some people try not to sleep the night before so that they can sleep during the day and feel more awake during their night shift. Some people just go to bed as normal, the night before, and have a small pre-night shift nap. Others wake up in the morning, stay awake all day, work the night shift and then go home and sleep, meaning they’ve stayed awake for 24 hours plus. It might take a while to find a routine that works for you but eventually, you’ll find a routine what works for you.
  • Prepare meals. The last thing I want to do after a night shift is to hit the kitchen and start making food. So, before a week of nights, I usually make a big pot of something that will last me several days.
  • So that your whole routine isn’t completely thrown out of the window, plan when you will run, go to post office, whatever errands that you might need to do, because there’s not a lot of time left over for you to do the things you want to.

During

  • Drink plenty of water.
  • Healthy snacks: dried mangos and nuts for me. It’d be easy to hit the vending machine and buy lots of junk. I’m partial to the odd cookie, but having some good options makes me feel like I’m not completely falling off the wagon. And it’s also cheaper. I can get into this mentality sometimes where I play victim: ‘I’m on nights, I deserve a biscuit’.
  • Take it easy. You’ll be covering a lot of wards and patients. Some nights can be quiet, but on those busy ones, pace yourself. Take breaks. I found when I didn’t, I could be reading the same line in a patient’s notes over and over again and not take anything in.
  • If there’s ten jobs waiting to be done, you can’t do them all at once. You’re going to have to prioritise. Sometimes the messages can be so cryptic it can be hard to make a decision. So call ahead and find out what the issue is.
  • Group the tasks by location. If you’re going to one ward, you might as well branch across the ward opposite if they need fluids prescribing. It’ll save you walking all the way back.
  • Know all the codes to the doors and short cuts. Make your life easy. Keep codes in the notes app in your phone so that you can come back to it. And important bleeps and numbers you need to know, like the medical registrar.
  • Try not to cut corners. It might be your fifth falls assessment of the night and doing a neuro exam on a sleepy elderly lady at 2:30 am isn’t the easiest thing to do. Chances are if someone has fallen in hospital, it could complicate their admission. You could be asked later down the line to explain what happened and how you responded.
  • If a nurse calls to let you know someone is unwell, give them some instructions of what to do before you get there: bloods, cannula etc.
  • Some issues will self-resolve. It’s surprising to me how many people I would be called to see because they weren’t sleeping and would arrive to find said person sleeping.
  • Know trust policy or at least know where to find them on the following: electrolyte imbalance (you’ll be prescribing loads of fluids), agitated patients (which benzodiazepine to prescribe), loose stools, fall management plan etc.

After

  • I’ve found that I feel so alert when I’m walking towards my car at the end of the night shift but 15 minutes later I’m starting to dip. But when I get tired, I stop. It’s tempting to just try to power through and get home sooner. People have died from being tired at the wheel. You’ll still get home, just a little later.
  • Don’t get distracted by anything else. Just sleep. I don’t have an issue with sleeping in bright sunlight, but if you think you might do, get a sleeping mask.

Good luck. And enjoy the free time you have left, don’t spend it worrying. Comment below if you have any questions or other suggestions. Thanks for reading. © Mind The Medic, 2017

The original article can be found at: http://www.mindthemedic.com/how-to-survive-a-night-shift/

Tagged:
No items found.

Find locum work on your terms

The best locum agencies together in one place, competing to find you the best locum shifts. Managed for free through your Messly account.

GET STARTED
Messly
view All Posts
SIMILAR Posts
Training
Am I Suffering from Burnout as a Doctor in Training?
Training
Expert Advice to Help You Successfully Apply for Internal Medicine Training (IMT)
Training
A Guide to the ARCP & GMC Revalidation
Training
Junior Doctors: Your Pay and Entitlements
POSTS BY TaGS
AHPRA
Australia
Doctor
ED
F3
Featured
Foundation Training
ICU
Lifestyle
Locum
MCNZ
Medical Training
New Zealand
Podcast
Trainee Doctor
Year Abroad
Subscribe
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
More Posts

You Might Also Like

Training
Am I Suffering from Burnout as a Doctor in Training?
Oct 20, 2022
 by 
Dr Amelia White
Training
Expert Advice to Help You Successfully Apply for Internal Medicine Training (IMT)
Aug 19, 2022
 by 
Chris Kurwie
Training
A Guide to the ARCP & GMC Revalidation
Sep 29, 2021
 by 
Messly
Training
Junior Doctors: Your Pay and Entitlements
Sep 28, 2021
 by 
Messly
Training
Negotiating your Salary as a Doctor
May 2, 2019
 by 
Messly
Training
Wellbeing Support for Doctors
Oct 16, 2018
 by 
Messly

126 New Kings Road
London
SW6 4LZ
‍
T: 020 4525 5373
E: 
support@messly.co.uk

For Locums
OverviewKey FeaturesThe Locum HubThe Locum AcademyLocum Salary CalculatorCompare AgenciesThe Locum ToolkitChangelog
For Trainees
Training NavigatorFoundation Guides
For F3s
The F3 HubYour F3 OptionsWrite The Perfect CVThe F3 WorkbookChangelog
Hiring Doctors
For AgenciesFor Organisations
More
The Messly BlogThe Journal ClubAbout UsContact UsLoginChangelog
Get The App:
© 2022 Berdroot Developments Limited
Made with ❤️ in London