Effects of Shift Length on Nursing Staff's Productivity, Safety, and Well-being
Start Date
April 2020
End Date
April 2020
Major Field of Study
Nursing
Student Type
Undergraduate - Honors
Faculty Mentor(s)
Patricia Harris, PhD, RN, CNS
Presentation Format
Oral Presentation
Abstract/Description
Shift length has become something of a hot topic in recent years and is very pertinent to the nursing field specifically. The most popular length of shifts, seen worldwide, are eight or twelve hours. This length does not, however, include any overtime one may work rather is simply representative of normal, scheduled shifts.
In nursing, the patient is the main client and therefore, patient satisfaction and outcomes of patient care are what most look at to determine the effectiveness of a healthcare team. However, things such as nursing staff job satisfaction, nurse burnout, and the physical and mental health of the nursing staff are equally important when calculating such a measure. All of these things, and more, are potentially affected by the length of shift which nurses in these institutions are working.
The purpose of this research is to explore the effect of shift length and the connections between shift length, namely eight versus twelve-hour shifts, and burnout, job satisfaction, health, and ability to complete work as it pertains to the nurses working these shifts.
Although there has been plenty of research done on this topic, the answers have been inconclusive. With the importance of this topic it is vital that we ask questions such as “do twelve-hour shifts lead to poorer patient outcomes?” and “Are longer shift lengths associated with higher rates of job burn out for nurses?” and explore the answers that come out of the studies in order find a more conclusive answer to this worldwide issue and possibly implement stricter regulations in order to improve outcomes on all measures.
Effects of Shift Length on Nursing Staff's Productivity, Safety, and Well-being
Shift length has become something of a hot topic in recent years and is very pertinent to the nursing field specifically. The most popular length of shifts, seen worldwide, are eight or twelve hours. This length does not, however, include any overtime one may work rather is simply representative of normal, scheduled shifts.
In nursing, the patient is the main client and therefore, patient satisfaction and outcomes of patient care are what most look at to determine the effectiveness of a healthcare team. However, things such as nursing staff job satisfaction, nurse burnout, and the physical and mental health of the nursing staff are equally important when calculating such a measure. All of these things, and more, are potentially affected by the length of shift which nurses in these institutions are working.
The purpose of this research is to explore the effect of shift length and the connections between shift length, namely eight versus twelve-hour shifts, and burnout, job satisfaction, health, and ability to complete work as it pertains to the nurses working these shifts.
Although there has been plenty of research done on this topic, the answers have been inconclusive. With the importance of this topic it is vital that we ask questions such as “do twelve-hour shifts lead to poorer patient outcomes?” and “Are longer shift lengths associated with higher rates of job burn out for nurses?” and explore the answers that come out of the studies in order find a more conclusive answer to this worldwide issue and possibly implement stricter regulations in order to improve outcomes on all measures.
Comments
This presentation was accepted for the Scholarly and Creative Works Conference at Dominican University of California. The Conference was canceled due to the Covid-19 Pandemic