Substance Abuse In Nursing Essay

Nursing is a very demanding job and can have an overall impact on the nurse both mentally and physically. Specifically within the critical care environment, nurses are more likely at risk for developing job burnout, due to the intense nature of their work. Job burnout is a type of job stress in which the state of physical, emotional or mental exhaustion is combined with doubts about the competence and value of your work, (Mayo Clinic, 2015). The specific burnout that the nurse may be experiencing is not only affecting them, but also their patient they are looking after. It is critical for us, as nurses, to be able to recognize the warning signs of burnout and find ways in which to take steps in order to address them, in order to improve the

This is important because this evidence proves that high nursing workload can affect the patients and nurses are doing things that they shouldn't be doing. NCBI stated that, “Previous research linked job-level workload (a working condition) to various nursing outcomes, such as stress, and job dissatisfaction”. Being overworked, nurses are stressed and are dissatisfied with their job. This is important because nurses are already doing extra work and can cause them to be even more stressed. Working a stressful job can make a nurse dissatisfied, and leave their jobs which can lead into a nurse shortage.

Burnout is a type of psychological stress. Stress and burnout are common among nurses who are the largest group of health care professions. Nurses experience burnout at some point of the career based on the intensity of workload and the emotional bonds that form with patients. The strain of nursing leads to burnout that contributes to physical, mental, and emotional exhaust of a nurse There is a concern that high levels of nurse burnout could adversely affect patients outcome. Patient safety is a priority, thus understanding the cause of nursing burnout is significant.

Effects of High Nursing Workload The literature supports that high nursing workload adversely affects the quality of patient care, nurses’ satisfaction with job, and the healthcare institutions’ attempt to provide cost effective nursing care. Implication for patients. Several consequences of high nursing workload have been proven to hinder the quality of patient care. Carayon and Gurses’s research (2008) indicates that heavy workload can contribute to errors, shortcuts, guideline violations, and poor communication with physicians and other providers, thus compromising the quality and safety of patient care. In addition, the research not only implies that patients may not receive proper care, but also they can experience less satisfaction with

High nurse turnover is an ever-present problem that leaves the other staff members to fight, stress out and run the risk of also becoming that burnt out nurse or having compassion fatigue as well. Compassion fatigue and burnt out nurses puts nurses at high risk for poor judgments and incorrect assessments (Young, Jong 2016). Patient safety is an important indicator of hospitals’ organizational performance (Welp, Manser, 2016). So with both nurses and patients at the weakest point could cause an increase in health

In addition, it will affect patients because it nurses are tired from working overtime, quality of care for patients can suffer. According to Sung-Heui Bae, author of “Nursing Overtime: Why, How Much, and Under What Working Conditions?”, When a nurse works for over 12 hours or more than 60 hours a week, nurses are more prone to making medical errors which can compromise a patient’s safety (Bae). Like what Fackelmann says, “Overworked nurse may not get to a patient quickly enough to catch a subtle sign of a potentially deadly complication”. This can be one of the reason of 20,000 death of patients each year because of overworked nurses

Poor staffing stresses every nurse and makes them despite what they once loved to do. Nurses are overworked and because of that they may not provide adequate patient care. Patient safety should be the highest priority when it comes to health care, so why wouldn't the administrators reduce the ratio of nurse to patients to provide maximum patient care? Nurses that have a higher workload of patients are probably more prone to commit a medication error because they may not have the time to do the five checks of medication administration: the right drug, the right dose, the right route, the right time, and the right patient. Keller et al.

Several studies have shown that there is a direct link between stress, depression and illness and often times nurses fall victim to this link because of poor work environments and a lack of appropriate sick leave to tend to their own needs. Research has shown that stress amidst nurses is directly related to depression and illness; therefore, hospitals need to take actions necessary to decrease stress and promote well-being among their nursing staff. Work-related or occupational stress is defined as “the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demands placed on them at work,” (Burke, 2013). Nurses are exposed to high levels of occupational stress as a result of heavy workloads, extended working hours and high levels of time pressure (Tsai & Liu, 2012). Demanding work environments place a great deal of pressure on nurses to get their tasks done without allowing them sufficient control and support to manage those demands.

Nurses who are new to the profession also tend to experience increased levels of burnout than those with more clinical experience as they have less seniority and acute fatigue is more prevalent (Goong et al., 2016; Rahman et al., 2016). Furthermore, nurses working in critical care areas are more likely to experience burnout due to the unpredictable nature and stress of the job (Rahman et al., 2016). Psychosocial factors have a negative impact on nurse burnout. Those individuals who are smokers or engage in other harmful lifestyle choices are more likely to experience lethargy as well as conflict in the workplace and at home (Rahman et al., 2016). Living a sedentary life also is proven to contribute to burnout (Rahman et al.,

A nurse’s job is very stressful and can cause nurses to become fatigue, and dislike their current jobs; nurses are prone to making mistakes and medical errors (ANA, 2014). Nursing shortage and nursing turnover can deeply affect the future care of a patient and the concord in the healthcare system. Healthcare facilities take awareness of the situation among nurses and chose to carry out the situation in specific ways. Contributing Factors to Nursing Shortage Nursing shortage is a crisis in hospitals nationwide. The main contributing factors on the current shortage are the steep population growth resulting in a growing need for health care services, a diminishing pipeline of new nursing students, and an aging nursing workforce (Honor Society of Nursing, 2013).