Nurse Fatigue In the recent past, nursing has come to the forefront as a popular career amongst students across the globe. The demand for nurses has kept increasing gradually over the years. In fact, the number of registered nurses does not meet the demand of the private and public health sector. This phenomenon has resulted in a situation where the available registered nurses have to work extra hours in order to meet the patients’ needs. With this in mind, the issue of nurse fatigue has come up as a common problem in nursing. According to the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA), nurse fatigue is “a feeling of tiredness” that penetrates a persons physical, mental and emotional realms limiting their ability to function normally. Fatigue does not just involve sleepiness as has been assumed before. It involves utter exhaustion that is not easily mitigated through rest. When nurses ignore the signs of fatigue, they risk the development of chronic fatigue and other health problems that may not be easily treated. Additionally, fatigue may cause nurses to lose more time at work as they may have to be away from work for several days to treat it. The issue of nurse fatigue has permeated the nursing profession to the extent of causing errors in the work performed by nurses. Fatigue causes a decrease in a nurse’s ability to make accurate decisions for themselves and their patients. It is therefore important to find ways to curb nurse fatigue such that it is no longer a problem. Nurse fatigue is a danger to the patients, organizations and to the nurses themselves and must be mitigated adequately. Signs of Fatigue It is important to know what the signs of fatigue are so that nurses can easily identify the problem as early as possible. In most... ... middle of paper ... ...ork shifts depending on their ability. In addition, it is important for nurses to understand that it is their ethical responsibility to only practice when they are fit to do so. Moreover, nurses should take responsibility for self care and take adequate time to rest and recover after shifts. In general, nurses should be aware of their mental and physical capabilities and only work when they are well enough to do so. Conclusion Nurse fatigue is a serious topic not only in the nursing profession circles but in the health sector as a whole. The effects of nurse fatigue are serious in a way that the issue can no longer be ignored. As discussed in this paper, it is important for nurses to be aware of the signs of fatigue and take adequate action when it happens. It is also possible for nurses to develop a work ethic that ensures nurses do not reach the point of fatigue
Alarm fatigue is a growing problem that causes nurses to feel overwhelmed and not perform to the best of their abilities. Many people don’t understand the concept of alarm fatigue until they are in a hospital and hear the different noises going on first hand. Alarm fatigue occurs when nurses or other health care members have sensory overload due to the alarms, which then lead to ignoring the alarms raising concerns with patient safety (Horkan, 2014).
A considerable amount of literature has been published on the impact of working hours (8 vs. 12 hour shifts) on fatigue among the nurses. These studies revealed that twelve-hour shifts increase the risk of fatigue, reduce the level of alertness and performance, and therefore reduce the safety aspect compared to eight-hour shifts (Mitchell and Williamson, 1997; Dorrian et al., 2006; Dembe et al., 2009; Tasto et al., 1978). Mills et al. (1982) found that the risk of fatigues and performance errors are associated with the 12-hour shifts. Beside this, Jostone et al. (2002) revealed that nurses who are working for long hours are providing hasty performance with increased possibility of errors.
...hological preparation. After a nurse is done working their regular shift being forced to work overtime can out them a greater right of medical mistake in part due to fatigue and tiredness consequently putting the patient at high risk of complications.
Summary of: “Shift Work: An Ethical Dilemma for Registered Nurses” Role Transition: Quiz Assignment Lesmeek Bridgeman P. Manion RN, BSN, MSN 17 January 2017 After reading “Shift Work: An Ethical Dilemma for Registered Nurses”. I found that I could personally relate to the message that is being discussed in this article. This article caused me to reminisce on a time in my life when I worked as a CNA and suffered from fatigue due to working excessive hours. Through my past experience I can better understand how fatigue can negatively affect an individual’s overall health and well-being. A lack of adequate facility staffing, the desire to help my patients, and maintain loyalty to my employer was the reasons why I allowed myself to become
The issues of nursing burnout and compassion fatigue are an important one in part, because of the ongoing nursing shortage across the united states. Per the American colleges of nursing “the U.S. is projected to experience a shortage of Registered Nurses (RN’s) that is expected to intensify as Baby Boomers age and the need for health care grows” (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2017). The ACA fact sheet cites several reasons for this including; the increasing needs of an aging population, healthcare reform, decreased enrollment in nursing programs, shortages of nursing faculty, large portions of working nurses
Burnout is a highly unusual type of stress disorder that is essentially characterized by emotional exhaustion, lack of empathy with patients, depersonalization, and a reduced sense of personal accomplishments. The nature of the work that healthcare practitioners perform predisposes them to emotional exhaustion. On the other hand, the lack of empathy towards patients is caused by the nurses feeling that they are underpaid and unappreciated. Numerous researches have associated burnout with the increasing rate of nurse turnover. This paper explores the causes of burnouts in nurses as well as what can be done to prevent the them.
One of the most serious issues in nursing, that can affect a nurses career is nursing burn- out. According to the article “Where have all the nurses gone”, current nurses that are practicing, report high rates of job dissatisfaction (which is part of burn out) and 1 of 5 nurses may quit nursing in the next 5 years (Dworkin, 2002). Burnout is associated with nurses not coming in to work, not feeling satisfied when doing their job, high turnover rates and a lack of commitment to the work (Katisfaraki, 2013). If a nurse becomes burned- out, they may not take care of their patients as well and could make mistakes with medication administration. A study performed in the United States by Dr. Jeannie Cimiottti, shows that hospitals with high burn-out rates among nurses have higher levels UTI’s, and surgical infections (World, 2012). Nursing burnout not only affects the nurse, but it also affects the patient, the nurses’ colleagues, and the nurses’ family; nursing burn out often leads to emotional exhaustion and depression, that can effect relations and communication between the nurse effected and the person they are communicating with. This paper will cover what burn-out is, who is susceptible to burn out, and treatment and prevent nursing burn out.
Thousands of nurses throughout the nation are exhausted and overwhelmed due to their heavy workload. The administrators do not staff the units properly; therefore, they give each nurse more patients to care for to compensate for the lack of staff. There are several reasons to why
The nursing profession is one of the most physically, emotionally, and mentally taxing career fields. Working long shifts, placing other’s needs before your own, dealing with sickness and death on a regular basis, and working in a high stress environment are all precursors to developing occupational burnout in the nursing profession. Burnout refers to physical, emotional and mental exhaustion, which can lead to an emotionally detached nurse, who feels hopeless, apathetic, and unmotivated. Burnout extends beyond the affected nurse and begins to affect the care patients receive. Researchers have found that hospitals with high burnout rates have lower patient satisfaction scores (Aiken et al 2013). There are various measures that nurses can take
Recent literature reports that there is a nursing shortage and it is continually increasing. Data released by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (2011) projects that the shortage, would increase to 260,000 by the year 2025. AACN (2011) also reported that 13% of newly registered nurses changed jobs and 37% were ready to change within a year. A study conducted reports that there is a correlation between higher nursing workloads and nurse burnout, retention rates, job dissatisfaction and adverse patient outcomes (Vahey & Aiken, 2004). Among the nurses surveyed in the study, over 40% stated that they were suffering from burnout while 1 in 5 nurses intended
Lippincott , Williams, & Wilkins, (2012). Sentinel event alert spotlights nurse fatigue. Clinical Rounds, 42(3), 27-29. doi: 10.1097/01.NURSE.0000411416.14033.f5
Nurses want to give complete and quality care, but are unable to, due to the constant needs of their workload and inadequate staffing. They have to prioritize their patients needs based on the most critical treatments first. Then whatever time is left, they fill in what treatments they can. Some reasons that nursing treatments are missed include: too few staff, time required for the nursing intervention, poor use of existing staff resources and ineffective delegation.” (Kalisch, 2006) Many nurses become emotionally stressed and unsatisfied with their jobs. (Halm et al., 2005; Kalisch,
Factors such as, heavy workloads, stress, job dissatisfaction, frequent medical errors, and intention of leaving the job are all common for nurses to experience, especially during the nursing shortage crisis. Not only do the nurses suffer during a shortage, but the patients ' health outcomes suffer even more. For instance, there are higher rates of infectious diseases and adverse patient outcomes, such as urinary tract infections (UTIs), upper gastrointestinal bleeding, shock, pneumonia, prolonged hospital stays, failure to rescue, and mortality. As a result, this leads to higher re-admission rates for patients. Furthermore, high patient-to-nurse ratios cause heavy workloads due to an inadequate supply of nurses, an increased demand for nurses, a reduction in staffing and an increase in overtime, and a shortened length of stay for patients. Without the heavy workloads that nurses have to endure on a daily basis, there would more time for nurses to communicate more effectively with physicians, insurance companies, and patients and their families. Those heavy workloads are the result of hospitals reducing the nursing staff and implementing mandatory overtime policies just to meet unexpectedly high demands. Unfortunately, the nursing shortage has affected nurses ' mental and physical health. For example, the most common health concerns for nurses include cardiovascular health, occupational injuries and illnesses, and emotional and physical exhaustion. Therefore, safe-staffing ratios/levels have to become the main
Working in a fast-paced environment and being on their feet can really take a toll on a person. In addition they have to be prepared for anything to happen during their shift. A study of overworked and stressed nurses found that nurses are overworked suffered from physical sickness like type two diabetes (Stress and overworked 2006). For most nurses, their work week consists of more than sixty hours. Working that many hours can double their chances of sicknesses. When they compare the working week hours of nurses who worked the normal 21 to 40 hours with those that work more than 40 or 60 hours a week, they found that in comparison the ones who worked 40 hours or more a week increased the risk by almost 50 percent for type 2 diabetes (Stress and overwork 2006). If nurses were to work their normal work hours without mandatory overtime, then their health would improve.
Nurses are cautioned on working longer than 8 hour shifts by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. According to ( ) about 23,000 nurses who provide direct care are working 12 hour shifts. These 12 hour shifts are contributing to an increased amount of fatigue. When nurses are unable to recover after long periods of time this effects their ability to be alert when driving home. There is a serious concern of the long term wear and tear 12 hour shifts can have on the body. These hours can also negatively affect ones physical and mental health state. * states it is critical to not push ourselves beyond our human limits. A cross- cultural experiment conducted by () focuses on the recovery levels of nurses working 12 hour shifts. The study uses the Occupational Fatigue and Exhaustion Recovery scale (OFER). This study was conducted in three hospitals. The OFER scale used three subscales to reference important categories. The first subscale is chronic fatigue/ exhaustion while at work. The next subscale is acute fatigue, which emphasizes on the desire to engage in outside activities after the work shift is over. The last subscale the experiment looked at was the length of time it took a subject to recover from one shift to the next effectively. The outcome of this study shows that one’s ability and mental awareness is seriously