Night-Shift Nursing & the Unforgettable Marie Finger

Nurse’s Night-Shift Routine

• Works irregular hours (often nights) and must enter patients’ rooms “at all hours of the night and day.”
• Main purpose of the visits: to obtain patients’ vital signs (“my vitals”).
• Tries to keep the environment as dark and restful as possible:
  • Avoids turning on overhead lights.
  • Partially closes the bathroom door, then switches on the bathroom light to create indirect, dim illumination.
• Limitation of this strategy:
  • Indirect light is insufficient for neurological checks ("neuro checks" require direct assessment of pupils, cognition, etc.).

Improvised Lighting Solution

• Former practice on the unit: carrying flashlights with paper taped around the lens.
  • Purpose of paper shield: narrow the beam so only a small area is lit, minimizing disruption to the patient.

Patient Anecdote — “Marie Finger”

• Name: Marie Finger; memorable because she became a favorite patient of the speaker.
• First encounter caused a scare:
  • In the dim light, the nurse did not realize Marie was wearing a wig.
  • The sudden visual of the wig startled the nurse (“scared the hell out of me”).
• Distinctive appearance traits that made Marie unforgettable:
  • Consistently wore a large “beehive”-style wig.
  • Frequently decorated the wig with small birds (varied from time to time).

Practical / Ethical Takeaways

• Balancing patient rest with clinical duties: Night-shift staff must improvise to gather critical data while preserving sleep hygiene.
• Safety: Reduced lighting can introduce unexpected visual surprises (e.g., wigs, décor) that momentarily disorient staff.
• Personal connection: Even brief, quirky encounters (like Marie’s wig) can build lasting positive memories between caregivers and patients.