How to handle long shifts as a nurse or doctor
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How to handle long shifts as a nurse or doctor
Working in the medical world, a 12-hour shift may be the “norm”. At some point, your physical and mental health will be affected if you don’t care for your body in a proper way. At IELTS Medical we train the top health care professionals from all around the world. We want to give you the best preparation for working in the UK. We want to share our top 6 tips for getting through a 12-hour shift working for the NHS.
1. Stay organised
First and foremost, you need to stay organised. A series of long shifts won’t leave you time to think about cooking and cleaning at home. Prioritise your time. Do the important stuff first and then when it comes to working, be fully focussed on work. Clean and organise the house so that when you come home from a long shift, you can relax and rest peacefully.
2. Eat healthy and keep hydrated
Finding the time to eat healthily is extremely important. Food gives you energy, vitamins and keeps you happy. Healthy food helps you build up your immune system as a resistance to sicknesses. As a nurse or doctor, you can easily pick up an illness because you work with ill people every day. Meal prep is strongly advised by experienced nurses and doctors. Pack your food for a long shift the night before and cook in bulk so you don’t have to cook every day after a long shift. Keeping hydrated is a very important tip. It is something that is easily forgotten when you’re really busy and focused on the wards
3. REST!
This is probably the most important tip of the day. In order to fully recover from a long 12-hour shift, you need to get enough rest. If you don’t, your body will be completely run down and you won’t have any energy to eat properly either. When you get home from work, you should have already done all the tasks at home in your spare time so that you can turn off.
4. Exercise
It may seem a bit impossible to find the time to exercise after a 12-hour shift. However, if it’s important to you, you’ll find a way, if it’s not, you will find an excuse. It is really important for your body to get enough fresh air and move about.
5. Take breaks
It’s easier said than done. Even if you don’t have time to take a full hour break, take short ones (15-20 minutes). Someone may be bound to see you in an hours’ time so it’s a lot more convenient and manageable to spilt up your hour break.
6. Leave work at work.
If you’re going home thinking about your day, then you are not going to get a good night’s sleep, you’re not going to be feeling relaxed. It’s normal to feel a bit wired up after work but don’t focus on it. Do things to distract yourself and let your body rest.
This is something that we can't train you to do. It’s acquired and all about finding a balance. We are here to prepare you in the best possible way for becoming a nurse or doctor in the UK. If you would like to see more tips about working in the medical world, keep an eye out for our daily blogs. If you would like to book a course please visit our website or give us a call on 02036376722.
