12 Hour Shifts

Introduction Nurses have long been known for having to work strange, long hours in order to care for patients. Shift length is a concept that effects a nurses’ professional and even personal life. All nurses, specifically those working in a hospital, have most likely seen the effects of working eight to twelve hour shifts. Additionally, this issue is not one unique to the United States, but rather an issue that nurses are facing worldwide. While a nurse might have a partiality to one shift length over another, data seems to have a strong preference. It is no surprise that a debate exists whether nurses should be allowed to work extended hours because of performance and patient safety. This debate has been focused on the positive and negative

These longer shifts are seen with nurses working in the ICU, pediatrics, OB, and the ED. One of the chief benefits of working twelve hour shifts is nurses only having to work three times a week rather than five times. Facilities benefit from this as well due to less paid break time and fewer handover hours where overlapping shifts are clocked in at the same time for patient report. This study pointed out that fatigue in twelve hour shift nurses, especially those working night shift, has long been recognized as an issue. Fatigue increases with age of nurses. Nurses working twelve hour shifts are at a higher risk of making errors than those working shifts less than twelve hours. This study also took into account the patient’s perspective of nursing care throughout twelve hour shifts. Some data points to patients enjoying the greater continuity of care that twelve hour shifts provide. Other data shows patient dissatisfaction because of noticeably fatigued nurses. This article concluded by providing several ways or strategies to reduce the negative impact that twelve hour shifts has on both the patients and nurses. Factors such as lighting, providing time for short naps, and taking into account commuting time are all things that can be beneficial to nurses working longer shifts. The authors recognize that the need for night shift nurses will

The article stated that benefits of working twelve hour shifts include higher continuity of care and consistency as well as better, more accurate hand-off report due to only needing two handoff reports in 24 hours rather than three. Once again, it is reported that nurses working twelve hour shifts having higher rates of job and home life satisfaction. This article also found that twelve hour shifts lead to reduced turnover rates in nursing staff. These advantages, however, come at the expense of nurses’ health and patient safety. This article highlights the fact that other professions that require long hours, night shifts, or consecutive hours are heavily regulated. These professions include the military and tours of duty, aviation, railroad jobs, and truck drivers. These regulations make it safer for workers to carry out their professional responsibilities safely and effectively. Nursing, however, is not currently regulated at the state or federal level when it comes hours or schedules. This is surprising due to the extensive knowledge that exists about the negative outcomes of fatigued nurses working long shifts or overnight (Richards, Harrison, Barwari, & Reith, 2015). The American Nurses Association took the stance in 2006 that facilities should provide flexible working hour options for nurses and ensure that nurses are able to get rest