Are Extended Work Hours Worth the Risk?
Are Extended Work Hours Worth the Risk?
Many nurses are used to working 12-hour shifts. In fact, most are satisfied with these shifts. For about 75% of today's nurses, flexible scheduling, fewer shifts to cover per week, and fewer handoffs—coupled with premium wages and more days with family—have made 12-hour shifts the norm.
But the 20-something nurses of the 1980s are now the 50-something nurses of the 2010s. Age, physical stressors, and increased fatigue have taken their toll. Injury risk among nurses and the risk of patient error have risen significantly. Regulatory bodies, nursing associations, and nursing researchers have noted that the risks to patient safety and nurse safety outweigh the benefits of working 12-hour shifts. (See Organizational responses to extended shifts by clicking the PDF icon above.)
Eliminating 12-hour shifts will require a major culture change and face opposition by nurses and administrators alike, so strategies to reduce the negative effects of fatigue need to be investigated. Hospitals should use creative scheduling to reduce the number of consecutive shifts and other factors that overtax nurses' abilities. Administrators need to consider patient safety when matching staffing needs with nurses' desired schedules. A scheduling science has been developed to reduce the risks of errors and nurse injuries. Some scheduling software also can identify and avoid potentially risky, fatigue-producing schedules.
What Does the Future Hold?
Many nurses are used to working 12-hour shifts. In fact, most are satisfied with these shifts. For about 75% of today's nurses, flexible scheduling, fewer shifts to cover per week, and fewer handoffs—coupled with premium wages and more days with family—have made 12-hour shifts the norm.
But the 20-something nurses of the 1980s are now the 50-something nurses of the 2010s. Age, physical stressors, and increased fatigue have taken their toll. Injury risk among nurses and the risk of patient error have risen significantly. Regulatory bodies, nursing associations, and nursing researchers have noted that the risks to patient safety and nurse safety outweigh the benefits of working 12-hour shifts. (See Organizational responses to extended shifts by clicking the PDF icon above.)
Eliminating 12-hour shifts will require a major culture change and face opposition by nurses and administrators alike, so strategies to reduce the negative effects of fatigue need to be investigated. Hospitals should use creative scheduling to reduce the number of consecutive shifts and other factors that overtax nurses' abilities. Administrators need to consider patient safety when matching staffing needs with nurses' desired schedules. A scheduling science has been developed to reduce the risks of errors and nurse injuries. Some scheduling software also can identify and avoid potentially risky, fatigue-producing schedules.
