Hello to 12 hours, Good-bye to Sleep
Imagine a nurse who has to go to work for 12 hours and how much energy he or she puts in? It feels like a never ending story and the character begins to exhaust his or her energy. As much as 12 hours may seem, the 12 hours spent in something one like to do would make it better. It may involve less sleep for someone who works 12 hours. Nurses in the past and today have been working 12 hour shifts or more, which shouldn’t be a big deal now than it actually seems. I think 12 hour shifts are a productive way for more nurses to connect with patients and complete their work effectively. Therefore, nurses should have the right to want to work for 12 hour shifts despite the negative outcomes.
Nurses who worked for a longer time and for 12 hour shifts do find it effective as well as a better balance with work, family, and patients. In the article, “12-Hour Shifts”, Hallie Shafer, an RN and BSN who worked for more than 8 years and around 12 hour shifts, explains, “I think that it’s great for both work and you’re outside life.” She also tells, “At work, you can have the continuity of care with the patients. You’re with them for a full 12 hours.” Shafer will also schedule her 12-hour shifts for three days at the beginning of a week and at the end of the following week. This way she can get back to seeing her family and friends.
Besides Hallie Shafer’s statement about how balance 12 hour shifts are to her life; there is a growing popularity, now and in the past, for nurses working 12 hour shifts. It began in 1970 when there was a national nursing shortage. This allows more time for nurses to be at home. It also allows hospitals to increase nursing part time and offers different shifts. Next thing we kn...
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...ently, to stay hydrated, to aim for 7 hours of sleep, and to de-stress your life.
Overall, 12 hours may seem long but it is relatively productive for a week. Nurses who work 12 hour shifts and being able to do something they like are more likely to want to work for 12 hours. They find it flexible and balance between work and families. It is a duty to the heart to help those in need if it requires more time. It is similar to anyone who really works hard to get better results. Nurses work hard to get to where they are now and therefore should have the right to choose 12 hour shifts. It is important for nurses to understand that all jobs have negative outcomes, but as long as they make the choice to maintain the level of their health and sleep by taking breaks and adequate exercise. They can further be energized in helping patients and finding work more effectively.
Inadequate rest which results in fatigue has major implications on the health and safety of registered nurses and can compromise patient care. Nurses often work three to four 12 hour shift a week without taking any breaks while on duty. They often have difficult workloads and challenges which can take a toll and impact patient care. I will be taking a look at nurse fatigue and the impact it has on the nurse’s wellbeing, work, and patient care.
In a hospital patients are cared for around the clock, twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week. Hospital RN schedules are set up on rotation shifts meaning you might have to work night or days, holidays, and/or weekends (“Job…”). In a doctor’s office, school, or health center regular business hours are normally maintained (“Job…”). If an RN works for a home health care agency then their routine patient visits are mostly scheduled during business hours. However, if a nurse is on call they may be paged and required to make a visit on any day, at any time.
The problem, as defined for my argument research paper, is that to cut costs, hospitals have been steadily increasing the number of patients nurses must care for. In many areas it's not uncommon for one nurse to have to assess, give medications to, and manage the care of as many as 12 patients. This puts tremendous strain on nurses. Many of the studies I have seen in my research indicate that a high ration of patients to nurses increases the rate of death or other poor outcomes for patients. It also leads to increased nurse burnout and higher turnover, though at this point I believe my paper will focus on patient outcomes.
Harrington, J. M. (2001). Health Effects of Shift Work and Extended Hours of Work. OEM Education. Retrieved on December 3, 2013, from http://oem.bmj.com/content/58/1/68.full. doi: 10.1136.oem.58.1.68
It is my position and with no doubt many other nursing positions that Ohio lawmakers need to pass laws to stop this mandatory overtime practice for nurses in the state. Failing to do so, Ohio will continue leaving both the nurses and the patients at risk. The cost of any mistakes or medical errors resulted from nurses’ fatigue and tiredness can be unprecedented. We need action now, to protect the patient as well as our staff nurse in the state of Ohio.
Some of the cons to being an RN is some of the dangers, such as being exposed to infections and disease on a daily basis (Minnesota 1). Plus, they spend a long period of time on their feet, so they are prone to back and knee injuries (American 2). Although while being an RN generally have a set schedule each week. Some work full time, or part time, but most work an average of 40 hours a week, they may work nights, weekends, and even holidays (Minnesota 1). There are also pros to being an RN such as helping the patient and their families during a rough time, while helping the patients and their families the nurses may not be able to have time to think of themselves and their own needs, which can often in times get upsetting. Another downside to being a registered nurse is seeing people dying, but having to stay positive (Minnesota
Nurses are the largest and the most trusted professional group in the health care system. They are highly educated and skilled in their areas of practice. However, today’s nurses are experiencing an ever increasing workload, which negatively impacts their ability to deliver safe patient care (Berry & Curry, 2012). This paper explores four published journals that report on survey results on nursing workload and their direct correlation with patient care outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to address the ongoing nursing workload issues and explore the reasons behind it.
Rawsi Williams once said, “To do what nobody else will do, a way that nobody else can do in spite of all we go through; is to be a nurse.” Being a nurse is not an easy job. First, one must complete on average, four to six years of schooling. After schooling, most beginner nurses are often given night shift jobs, which run from 7:00 p.m.-7:00 a.m. This means that the nurse is up all night, on his or her feet, tending to patients. Once they have put in their time with the night shifts, most nurses have the opportunity to switch to a daytime shift. However, this is not much easier. Daytime nurses spend more time on their feet and are active for about nine to twelve hours each shift, with little rest. Being a nurse is a tough job, and many times people do not chose to be a nurse because of the salary; they chose to be a nurse because they want to help people and to make a difference. It is important to appreciate nurses and all of the hard work they do to help others.
...n all night” (Harris, 98). To meet the demand for space, hotels started limiting customers to one eight-hour shift a night. (Harris, 98).
Witkoski Stimpfel, Amy , Douglas M. Sloane, and Linda H. Aiken. "The Loger the shifts for hosital nurses, the higher the levels of burnout and patient disstisfaction." Health Affairs 31.11 (2012): 2501-2509. Proquest. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.
Notably, having higher proportions of nurses working shorter shifts—8–9 hours or 10–11 hours—resulted in decreases in patient dissatisfaction” (Stimpfel et al.). This is essentially saying that the longer the shift length, the more negative outcomes result. This study proves that eight to nine-hour shifts are more effective, and should, in turn, be worked more than longer shifts. This is a problem because hospitals are likely to continue to schedule nurses for twelve hours shifts out of
Working six hour shifts allow you more free time. If you're working 8-10 shifts, you wouldn't have much time to spend with your family. You can take care of personal things outside of work before the day is over
Working 12 hours a day six days a week can definitely destroy the desire to wake up every morning and go to work. This was a situation I found myself in for two long years. At a previous company it was mandatory by the managers to work 72 hour work weeks, which completely overwhelmed the employees. According to research done by ABCNEWS (2015) 26 percent of employees said they were working too hard. This was 100 percent the case while working as a dispatch in the oilfields. The Division Manager at this oilfield company refused to hire enough employees to lessen the work load on the current employees exhausted. Workplace safety, performances, and staff retention all suffered due to the overworked employees. The company began to see a high turnover rate, which had an even great impact on hours worked. It also saw a decrease in moral, employee attendance, and attitudes suffered greatly from the impact of working so many hours. Barajas (2011) explains being overworked is about the gap between the tasks you are currently doing and what you are expected to be doing. He suggests that this type of stress creates a lot of tension in personal and work environment, which is exactly what the oilfield company was experiencing. The division manager failed to acknowledge there was a problem with employees being over-worked and showed little regard to how it was affect the current employees. He did not take anything into consideration and rarely responded to
Nurses generally work out of hospitals or doctors offices. Some nurses work out of schools or the patient´s homes. The work hours for nurses in hospitals can vary from 2 a.m to 2 p.m but nurses the
Shift work is a necessity of today’s workforce. Night shift work does not provide good health which is that the workers who are not use to working these hours can feel fatigue, lack of concentration due to drowsiness. Working at night can have effects that could prove to lower productivity and can cause incidents as it raises the risk of making poor decisions or even common mistakes. It is really very important to manage daylight sleep and prepare for night shift so that you minimize the risk of personal injury and property damage. I remember when I first went to night shift at the place I worked called Nordyne which the time was from 6 pm to 4:30 Am it was a tiring thing, It was funny to watch people who would transfer from the 6 am shift to the 6 pm shift. Most of them looked like they were still half asleep about that time.