Attached should be my poster on 12 hour nursing shifts and the impact on patient safety.
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Attached should be my poster on 12 hour nursing shifts and the impact on patient safety.
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Kristen,
I think this is an interesting topic as many areas, not just healthcare, have gone to 12 hour shifts. All of your information is good. One thing I also think that adds to the fatigue is we are expected to take on more patients and more responsibilities. I know where I am currently working they are working towards night shift taking a 6:1 radio of patients to nurses on a med/surg floor. The biggest push behind this is to reduce and ultimately remove the need for agency staffing which is a huge cost to the hospital. When you are allowed a 2 hour time frame for assessments at 2100 medications that is 20 minutes a patient. While a head to toe shouldn’t take 20 minutes it can be a challenge to get a full picture of your patient and have time to provide the kind of compassion and care that we want to provide while completing all the tasks that need to be done.
I liked how you alternated the background colors of your column to break up the information a bit. Your image about how lack of sleep is a good graphic. I would be interested to know how far those nurses were driving who were in an accident. I personally work in the same community that I live but I know of many people who drive 30+ minutes or more to get home and that would be a challenge after working a 12 hour shift.
I think that it is hard to put a number on how many patients a nurse can take on (especially in med/surg and ICU) because it is variable on how much care the patient needs. Have six patients that can ambulate on their own and feed themselves is one thing compared to six patients who are confused and huge fall risks! It is easier to put a number on how many a nurse can take on floors such as NICU and labor and delivery.
I drive about 35 minutes to work everyday but have luckily never had an accident! It can be exhausting driving home after working a 12-14 hour shift, especially if it a shift you are not used to working.
Thank you for your input.
Thanks for the great poster! This is a controversial topic for some nurses. When I first started as a nurse, I worked 8 hour night shifts on a med/surg floor. I now work 12 hour night shifts in the ER. Looking back I do think that I felt better working 8 hour shifts, however I did not like working 5 days per week. I felt like I had no time to do anything at home or have a personal. Working 12 hour shifts, definitely make me more tired but I do feel like I am able to do things outside of work. I currently drive approximately 40 minutes to work. In the mornings, driving home is often exhausting. I will admit that sometimes I space off and then realize where I’m at and wonder how I already got that far. It is dangerous. What type of shift do you prefer?
I have always worked 12 hour shifts until recently and now work 8. I agree that it is nice to be able to schedule your 3 shifts and be done for 6 or 7 days! However when I would work many shifts in a row I wouldn’t get to see my kids for several days. They would be asleep when I left and sleeping when I got home. I also drive about 35 minutes to work. I agree with you that the 8 hour shifts seem to give me much more energy and I am able to do things in the evenings with my family. It is hard trade off as I can see the pros/ cons for either shift.
I thought your poster was very well put together. There was a nice balance between written information and pictures. Great job!
I noticed your implication for nursing you mentioned looking at how many consecutive 12 hour shifts can be worked and the relationship in errors, etc. This would be very interesting to see the results. I personally felt like 6 in a row was the maximum I could do. I rarely tried to do that unless it was necessary. I felt like 4 in a row was perfect. How many shifts do you like to work in a row?
Thank you for your input! 6 in a row of 12 hour shifts made me feel awful and I definitely could tell by shift 5 that I was way more grouchy and tired! I try not to work more than 4 in a row as I don’t really get to see my kids when I work 12 hour shifts.
Yes I think looking at the error rates compared to what shift number in a row would be interesting. At one facility I was at, the DON didn’t like nurses working more than 6 shifts in a row. There wasn’t a policy on it but just the DON’s personal opinion. Do you have a policy at your facility you know of?
Kristen, your poster looks great and covers a vast amount of information without being jumbled. We have discussed this topic in great detail on your other post so I won’t bore you with the same discussion. I loved your graphics. Was there any exclusion criteria for the study?