We recently ran a competition here at Nurse Uncut on the “best nursing tips”. We found the tips not only helpful to student nurses or those new in the nursing profession but also to veteran nurses who’ve got 10, 20, 30 years of nursing experience under their belt. As they say, you always learn something new every day!
Here is one practical, easy-to-do tip that we’d like to highlight. It may even save your life!
We all know the strains on our safety (more than health, though they are both connected once you run into that tree!) –
Before you leave, grab a cup of ICE CUBES from the ice machine (most hospitals should have one) – if not , be nice, stop at McDonalds asap after the night shift, or a pub! – and get a cup of ice. – The MOMENT you feel your eyes tire, suck on an ice cube – you will “WAKE UP” almost immediately! – and take an ice cube to suck on while you drive whenever you get that “my brain wants to die” feeling – you will be so alert you actually remember the entire trip home. I have used this system for years, and recommended it to dozens of people, from nurses to police, musicians, truckies.
Remember that you do NOT have to be tired to get a microsleep – the ‘flickering’ of the light through the trees, or a boring bit of road, will do it to you – it’s called mesmerism. Tell your kids and spouses about this, unless you want them to be killed by you one day. Let them give you the ice cubes – they’ll see your eyes tire, or notice you swerving, while you claim you ‘avoided hitting a bunny’ or some other lame excuse.
Is there a study of how many night nurses had acccidents and/or died on the way home after a shift?
With the ice, they’d be here now. Choose your future – and so cheap to implement, and easy to try and disprove, so I challenge you – try it and respond.
If you have any other tips, please share it with us by leaving a comment on this post.
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Image credit: sxc.hu
This blog post was proudly brought to you by NSW Nurses Association.
Would be nice to credit the author, and to at least have a link to the full article, as this ‘preview’ doesn’t explain the full explanation for the method…..
HI Bernhard – what do you mean about link to the author? We have linked to the article on Nurse Uncut where we lifted this tip from
This thread appeared in an email just arrived, re competitions…. I did write this but still not credited anywhere, again.
This method actually works well, and should be noted. If you want to see your family grow up healthy, not be crippled or killed by you or your spouse/partner on the road, try the method! It is so cheap!
Simple to test, and the increase in concentration and alertness is remarkable. Have many night staff also taking ‘ice’ at 3-4am when their brains start trying to kill them, with great result (for the nurse, not the latter!).
The problem with being ‘tired’ is a deadly one. While the RTA promotes :”when you get tired, pull over and….” , this is far too late, as ONCE you get tired, your brain will REFUSE to let you pull over, instead will be lying to your brain, convincing it that you can drive “just another few hills” etc. (to that non-elusive tree or oncoming truck!).
Mcdonalds is a great stopover for more ICE ( if the hospital or other employer has none in store).