Scheduling sleep – how your roster can help

A real story shared under a changed name – thank you to the storyteller.

Rachel, an oncology nurse, tell us that the stress of a new job, combined with rotating shifts and caring for 2 children, caused her formerly good sleep to become chaotic. 

I began nursing a year ago. Pretty quickly, it was taking me hours to get to sleep, and the next day I was super fatigued and irritable. 

Under-slept and anxious

My sleep worsened when my patient load grew because of staff shortages at work. My anxiety began to increase, which was another reason I couldn’t fall asleep. I couldn’t relax, and my mind would race. Had I done everything…

Scheduling in better sleep

I couldn’t continue on so little quality sleep, so I decided I had to find something to help. 

I started with my roster. I had never really put roster preferences in or thought much about how to plan my roster. My shifts were all over the place, and sometimes I would work 8 or 9 shifts in a row, with too many late-earlies in the mix.

I discussed my concerns with my manager and began planning shifts 3 months in advance. I put in roster preferences to:

• avoid working late-earlies where possible
• not work more than 3 to 4 shifts in a row
• work night shift in blocks instead of random one-off shifts
• have 2 days off after a stint of night duty to recover. 

Within a few weeks, my sleep improved. 

Now my roster is so much better, and I am getting more rest in between shifts to recover. My anxiety is still an issue, but I am working on it during my appointments with NMHPA.