It has become common practice in the nursing world to work
12 or 13 hour shifts and enjoy the work-life balance of a 3-day work week. The
potential benefits include flexibility during your work week and more days to
devote to family responsibilities. However, the glitter of only working 3-days
a week might not be all that golden. Shifts can often lead into overtime and
after hours of paper work, which can compound the stress of a nurse who has
already worked 12 or 13 hours straight. Shifts can rotate between day and night
shifts, throwing off sleep schedules and turning a nurse’s day off into a day
of sleep and rejuvenating. 8-hour shifts 5 days a week may give nurses fewer
days off and less flexibility, but they can enjoy a more consistent schedule
and consistent hours to make planning around work easier and more predictable.
However, apart from the nurse’s world is a broader scope of patient care and
the quality of care each of these nurses provides during the shift they are in.
This is where the issue of nurse burnout comes into focus.
It is a serious problem for nurses as the patient-to-nurse ratio increases and
nurses skip lunches, breaks, and bathroom visits in order to keep up with
facility expectations and patient demands. Add into this mix the overtime of
filling out paperwork, long shifts, sore feet and backs, and the overall stress
of a job where nurses can’t be everywhere at once yet are expected to be.
Looking at the type of shift they are working can have a bigger impact than
first examined, and a few hours extra a day might not seem like a lot, but the
outcome can be profound.
According to an article from psychcentral.com, “Researchers
from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing examined the relationship
between nurse shift length and patients’ assessment of care. They determined
that nurses working shifts of ten hours or longer were up to two and a half
times more likely than nurses working shorter shifts to experience burnout and
job dissatisfaction. Job performance also appears to suffer as seven out of ten
patient outcomes were significantly and adversely affected by the longest
shifts.” The study examined 23,000
nurses and their patients in California, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Florida.
They found “In hospitals which had higher proportions of nurses working longer
shifts, higher percentages of patients reported that nurses sometimes or never
communicated well, pain was sometimes or never well controlled, and they
sometimes or never received help as soon as they wanted.” The study authors
recommended management should monitor more closely the number of consecutive
hours worked and the impact overtime can have on both the nurse and patient.
One doctor commented ““Nursing leadership should also encourage a workplace
culture that respects nurses’ days off and vacation time, promotes nurse’s
prompt departure at the end of a scheduled shift, and allows nurses to refuse
to work overtime without retribution.”
We want to open the discussion and hear from the nurses. Do
you prefer working 3-day schedules with longer hours or 5-day schedules with
shorter hours? Do you think changes in the expectations of nursing schedules
are easier said than done and do you think it’s even possible to create
stricter policies relating to overtime and consecutive hours when so many
unexpected events can happen in a hospital? What policis do you think are the
most needed, the easiest to achieve, and the biggest obstacles to overcome?
Educated RNs are in high demand for many reasons and make up
a fundamental core of healthcare facilities. It’s no wonder they’re asked to
work longer and past their scheduled hours. Eager LPNs, LVNs, RTs, and
Paramedics that are ready to take up the call and become RNs can’t always
attend nursing schools in a traditional manner. The ones that have the
experience and patient understanding often have families and busy schedules
that prevent attending classes in person. Rue Education understands this
problem many healthcare professionals face and has helped nearly 100,000 adult
learners earn credit toward their nursing degrees. Rue Education’s advanced
learning systems prepare healthcare professionals to transition into RNs and
support them every step along the way. If you’re ready to start becoming the RN
you’ve always wanted to be, talk to Rue Education today.
