You found another home, I know you’re not alone on the night shift

Good morning. 

The Commodores lyric used as the title for today’s VC Notes gives away the topic: Spotlight on the night shifters. 

Of our thousands of employees, roughly a third work a night or weekend shift, mostly in patient care positions – with the vast majority being nurses and techs, but also in support roles that need to always be on hand. Our hospitals are always open, and the staff who are working while the rest of us sleep are vital. To that group of faculty and staff – as well as some trainees and learners – I extend my appreciation. Having worked the night shift myself for many years as an emergency medicine doctor, I remember well how different our campus can seem after hours. 

The full list of the different types of positions and roles that are on hand from sundown to sunup is too long to name in this column, but here’s a few that I’ll call out: 

• The house supervisors in our adult and pediatric hospitals are the on-site operations leaders for the night shift. Among other things, these senior staff are entrusted to make sure staffing is right overnight, oversee patient movement and placement, respond to patient/family issues and ensure smooth intra-unit collaboration to keep the train running smoothly – no matter the hour. Without their vast array of knowledge, experience and expertise, the night shift could get chaotic. 
• There’s one UMMC clinical unit that is built for nighttime – sleep medicine. Nearly every member of our sleep medicine teams works the overnight shift with patients who are undergoing a sleep study.  
• Laboratory, blood bank and pharmacy staff are essential for patient care and must always maintain a consistent presence without significant disruptions in availability and/or turnaround time.  
• On-call faculty and staff provide round-the-clock support and are always ready to spring into action when called upon – which regularly happens. Additional support is needed and appreciated when night activity increases or when specialized assistance is required. 
• As the state’s only Level I trauma center and organ transplant program, we maintain a higher percentage of our OR and PACU staffing than other hospitals in the state.  
• At night, there’s no reduction in the patrol area or focus on safety for UMMC Police. Their mission to keep anyone who comes onto our campus or into our facilities safe is the same day or night.  
• Another group whose scope of work isn’t limited to “normal business hours” is Facilities Services. All day and night these essential staff monitor and maintain infrastructure including HVAC, electrical equipment, plumbing and other systems that are needed to keep the UMMC train running. When something goes down at night, these professionals are called upon to get things back up and running quickly. 

Even on the night shift, our patient care mission is not lessened. We must always – always – be here for Mississippians who need us. Thank you to everyone who regularly works the night shift and keeps a daily schedule that doesn’t fall into the “normal” category. All of you on the night and evening shifts are critically important in the 24/7/365 work of UMMC as we continue the journey toward A Healthier Mississippi.