Blog #2

A day in the Life of a SCBU Nurse

I have never been so tired

As you may have read in my first blog, “Life is great…”, I am a new grad RN working in a special care baby unit (SCBU). I have been in the SCBU for six weeks and am settling in well, but in all honesty, a more accurate statement would be “life is exhausting”. I have just completed a stint of five-night shifts, and I swear I have never been so tired in my life.

No wonder they call it the graveyard shift; I feel like the undead.

My day commences at 10 PM when my alarm goes off, and I drag my sorry arse out of bed. I brush my hair, throw it in a scruffy bun, eat a banana because I’m too tired to make a proper meal, and brush my teeth. I grab a pre-made lunch from the fridge and chuck it in my bag. I put my uniform on and lay down for a final shut-eye because I did not get enough sleep during the day.

Around 10:45 PM, I wake up in a panic and rush out the door. For some reason, keys don’t work when you’re in a hurry, and of course, I drop them on the floor. That’s when I find myself on my hands and knees feeling around in the pitch-black, praying that the keys appear in my hands.

By 10:50 PM, I’m in my car, fumbling my keys once again and reevaluating my life decisions. I’m thinking, “I must get more organized” and “I need to stop watching [insert Netflix series here] during the day and sleep!”.

I arrive to work at 10:55 PM and do a few laps around the hospital before finding the last park available. I speed walk to the unit and manage to arrive with a minute to spare — just enough time to grab a scut sheet, handover sheet, sit down, and breathe.

That’s enough breathing, it’s time to work!

The shift always begins with a global handover or an overview of each baby, including their medical history and current care plan. I have two babies allocated to me, and so, after the global handover, I receive a bedside handover for each baby. It is now 2 AM, and everything is running smoothly. My babies are feeding perfectly, and their observations are within parameters. Suddenly, we hear that a baby is coming from the postnatal ward, and the nurses ask if I am happy to take the baby as I only have two.

The baby arrives, and time flies. At 5:30 AM, I manage to squeeze in a 30-minute break in which I gobble down my lunch (technically my breakfast) and lay down to rest.

Then, in the blink of an eye, my nurse wakes me up and has a look of relief on her face. “You were in such a deep sleep I couldn’t tell if you were breathing”.

I look at the clock, and my heart sinks; I have slept through to 6:30 AM. Nurses for the next shift start arriving, and I still have multiple feeds, observations, and all my notes to write. I wipe the drool trail from my face, wash my hands (of course), and get back to work. The global handover is complete, and I must hand over my babies. My brain activates auto-pilot, and I give a half-hearted handover, thankfully providing the essential information. The nurses on my shift head off home, and I head to the nurses’ station to write my notes. Finally, I am free to go.

A zombified version of myself slumps into my car and proceeds to drive home.

It’s now a Sunday morning, and so it is a traffic-free journey home. Oh, the perks of working a night shift on Saturday.

It’s now 8 AM. Freshly showered and back in my Ellen onesie, I curl up into the fetal position and die. My thoughts are still buzzing from my busy shift, and my heart is racing but gradually calming as my body readjusts to its new relaxed state.

Around 2 PM, I wake up feeling peckish and have something to eat. I put on a Netflix series or a show with Karl Pilkington or something chess-related on YouTube to watch while I eat. I then get trapped in a cycle of playing chess and watching one of the mentioned shows until I realize I desperately need to get to sleep, usually about 6 or 7 PM. At this point, I switch the telly off, put on some music or a podcast, and eventually drift off to sleep. Finally, at 10 PM, I do it all over again.

What I’ve learned

Working night shifts has taught me the importance of self-discipline and sleep. I learned that I must always set the alarm before closing my damn eyes and ensure I get enough sleep during the day before heading to a night shift. I’m glad to have learned this lesson early on, as I am sure I have many more night shifts ahead of me.

What I’m proud of

I have recently reached a couple of small milestones in my nursing journey. Firstly, I’m proud to have my IV designation signed off, allowing me to administer IV medications to my patients. My first medications to administer were two different types of antibiotics. Preparing and administering the medications does not come naturally. I look forward to the day that it all feels like second nature, but until then, I’d rather do things slowly and right than rush it and make a mistake. Secondly, I have completed my orientation period, meaning I will no longer have a preceptor. My name is officially on the roster, and I am no longer considered a supernumerary to the team. I am also a member of the SCBU staff Facebook group, so it feels even more official.

Healthy habits

I’m glad I added this ‘healthy habits’ section as it allows my blog post to always end on a positive note. My healthy habit for the day was cooking with my three younger siblings. Spending valuable time with my family warms my heart and brings so much joy to my life. Together, we made teriyaki chicken kebabs (the kind on a stick, apparently also called ‘kebobs’ in some places), with rice, soy sauce, and avocado for our dinner. We also cooked a beef brisket stew with kumara (NZ sweet potato), parsnips, carrots, and potato, as well as a Thai red chicken curry in the slow cooker, both of which I’ve portioned up and frozen for work throughout the next couple of weeks. I always love spending time with my family, and the yummy food was a bonus too.

Thanks for reading

To sum up, I have found working night shifts exhausting, and I have learned that I need to work on my self-discipline to get adequate amounts of sleep. I have made some progress in my nursing journey and enjoyed cooking (and eating) some delicious food with the people I love most. As always, I am incredibly grateful for your time. Thanks for reading ❤

Check out my first blog here: