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Ann E. Rogers, Wei-Ting Hwang, Linda D. Scott, Linda H. Aiken, and David F. Dinges The Working Hours Of Hospital Staff Nurses And Patient Safety Health Affairs, July/August 2004; 23(4): 202-212. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] [Reprints & Permissions]

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Nurses Working Longer Hours

Martha G. Berry   ( 19 July 2004 )

Re: Longer Work Hours Increase Errors

Mercelita Maceda   ( 20 July 2004 )

Nurses Working Longer Hours 19 July 2004
Martha G. Berry, Family Nurse Practitioner Denton Heart Group Send comment to journal: Re: Nurses Working Longer Hours mberry{at}csant.com Martha G. Berry	Why is this so surprising? I have been a nurse for 30 years, and 29 years ago this was recognized. Working longer hours in a high stress area will always increase the error rate. So will having management put a big guilt trip on their employees about not having enough help and having to care for too many critically ill patients. This is not a new problem, just an old problem with new people looking at it. What is really surprising is that nurses have the responsiblity of life and death every day, and they are less respected and less paid than any other profession around. A backhoe operator has more. Stop killing our nurses and give them the respect, pay, and suitable hours that they deserve.
Re: Longer Work Hours Increase Errors 20 July 2004
Mercelita Maceda, Inactive RN AACN Send comment to journal: Re: Re: Longer Work Hours Increase Errors msmaceda{at}aol.com Mercelita Maceda	To some extent with human limitations, I agree that longer work hours will affect anyone's mental alertness, regardless of profession. An example that I have observed is surgical residents, who are up for their normal day, then up all night for their on-call hours, and up again the next day in the operating room. In the nursing profession, with an exception to overtime, to my experience, 12-hour shifts are more advantageous to nurses as well as patients. Not only do the patients receive continuity of care, but also continuity and follow-up of plan of care for the patient, discussed between the two nurses during the change of shifts. With shifts that last 12 hours, nurses are more organized in the plan of care for the whole day instead of rushing to finish the work because it's almost the end of the shift, and any unfinished work has to be carried over by the next nurse. Time is also saved because there are fewer times that reports are given to the next shift. I understand that a three-shift staffing structure is cost-effective for the institution. However, the bottom line is that regardless of whether nurses work 12 hours or 8 hours, the question of how much workload is undertaken within those hours plays a big part in patient safety.