Lighting up the night-sorry for complaining but I need to vent

I finished my first three nightshifts and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I wondered if I would be able to make it through the first night without crashing and I did! I'm just not a night owl and never have been. (Growing up I'd have sleep over with Monkey Face and fall asleep on her bed by 8:30. That's right, I've always been a lame-o.) I thought that I wanted to work on this unit and they offered night shift because I'm a new grad and so I jumped at the job and pray to get on dayshift in the near future.

The first night was full of yawns, most likely because I had 1 measely patient who was stable (besides the whole ventilator thing). I decided to sleep from 8a-2pm on Tuesday and that seemed to hold me over for Tuesday night. I was on my own for night #2, as my preceptor was also charge nurse and evidently other nurses were overwhelmed with very sick patients and needed his help because I didn't see him all night. Slept 8am-4pm on Wednesday and seriously considered staying in bed. I wish I had stayed in my super comfy bed with super snugly Sumter D for night #3, because my "preceptor" (I'm using this term loosely now b/c I am not pleased) called out "sick" -as in "sick and tired of being abused at work every night with orientees and charge"-and I got stuck with this crazy Yankee workout Nazi nurse who threatened to steal my pink stethescope and was also charge nurse. She left me home alone with two critical care patients, one of which was a VERY agitated older lady with Alzheimers. An irate family member cursed at me over the phone because her loved one's MD (who was alseep in his snugly bed) ordered nothing by mouth in anticipation of surgery on Thursday AM and the patient was hungry. I explained that a full belly and anesthesia are a combo for aspiration pneumonia and it was really a safety measure that all patients endure before a procedure requiring sedation, but lovely family member still called me a f****ing bitch. I don't know about ya'll, but if someone was taking care of my Gmama 8 hundred miles away from where I am, I wouldn't call her a f***bitch over the phone. That's not to say I would treat her Gmama badly because her granddaughter is hateful, but it just seeems like common courtesy not to cuss strangers over the phone. I'm beginning to wonder if they have common courtesy in New Jersey.

I think Homeslice Preceptor could have texted me to stay home too...but I am trying not to hold it against him. Next week will be better-it has to be.