Overworked Nurses

Nurses. They are such a vital part of any hospital and in any medical offices. Their main focus is on the care of individuals and families, so they can recover to perfect health. With the constant demand, shortage of staff and the need for nursing, helping or hurting nurses. During my research, I found that some people agree that overworking nurses is okay because the hospital still thrives and that an overworked is just collateral damage. Other think that overworking nurses is wrong and something should be done to change the problem. In this paper, I will discuss how nurses are overworked and what1 problems arise with overworked nurses backed by research.

Are nurses overworked and what type of problems does it cause?

Stress and dissatisfied

With a majority of their stress coming from work or work related problems. The Vickie Milazzo Institute located in Houston conducted a survey in 2014 of more than 3,300 nurses and found that they were stressed, overworked, and underappreciated. Of those nurses surveyed they found that 64 percent said they rarely get seven to eight hours of sleep per night. Another 31 percent said they get enough sleep just two to three nights a week. The lack of sleep they have during the week can lead the nurses to be stressed and dissatisfied with their jobs. Researchers have also found that when people are dissatisfied or stressed they will not do their best and I agree with that statement. Some nurses will not do their best at work because they are stressed and thinking about another task they have to accomplish throughout the day. Also, because they feel underappreciated at work, and they may ask themselves why should they do their best if they are not going to be

The patient is depending on the nurse to give them the right medication and make no mistakes. If a nurse is overworked their chances of making a medical error is 3 times higher than a nurse who is not overworked and well rested. The leading cause of medical errors is stress and exhaustion. Medical errors are also common in other places besides America. European countries and Canada have also found that medical errors occur more when their doctors and nurses are overworked and stressed. Statisticians in Canada released a report showing that nurses who worked longer hours reported more medication errors saying that “Among nurses who usually worked overtime, 22% reported medication errors, compared with 14% of those who did not work overtime.”

It was not very difficult to see how nurses who are forced to work ma1ditory overtime were tired and more likely to make more medical errors. Another recent study done by the University of Maryland had the same findings concluding that the chances of making patient errors increase three- times when nurses work 12-hour rather than an 8.5-hour