A study of nurses who are members of the American Nurses Association found that many are working a lot of overtime hours and making unfortunate mistakes and near-mistakes as a result. 393 registered nurses sent back logbooks about their working and sleeping habits, mistakes and near-mistakes, as well as various other pertinent information for the study. The nurses answered 40 questions per day when they worked, less on their days off, and were compensated for their participation.
Why is this happening?
Lots of hospitals are short-staffed, and nurses who specialize in areas such as dialysis, surgery, and intensive care are often required to work extra hours in addition to their regular shifts. There aren’t any state or federal regulations that prohibit the number of hours nurses may work voluntarily during a 24-hour period. Especially with the American economy continuing to struggle as it recovers from the recession, many nurses find it necessary to work very long shifts. There are many thorough studies about the effects of sleep-deprivation in physicians, and it makes sense that there would be similar effects on nurses.
Working Overtime is the Norm among Nurses
The study period was 28 days. It found that nurses left work at the end of their scheduled shift less than 20% of the time. On average, participants worked about 55 extra minutes each day. A third reported working overtime every single day during those 28 days. Mandatory overtime is the term for when nurses are required to work beyond their regularly schedule shifts, under threat of being fired or losing their nursing license if they don’t show up. It’s a controversial practice that could be a large contributor to medical missteps among nurses.
Medication Errors the Most Common
The most frequent mistake (58%) and near-mistake (56%) was in the administration of medication. 30% of the nurses reported than they had made at least one error, and 32% reported a near-error. Work duration, overtime, and number of hours worked per week proved to be major factors in the frequency of errors and near-errors. Working more than 40 hours per week versus 50 made a huge difference in terms of the probability of making a mistake. No matter how old the nurses were, what hospital he or she worked at, size of the hospital, or type of hospital unit—the results were the same across the board.
Mistakes are Still Relatively Uncommon, Though
Overall, nurses don’t make many mistakes. This small study could be overstating the risks of nurses’ overtime effect on errors. But the undeniable fact is that working unpredictable hours contributes to many nurses’ dissatisfaction with their jobs. Having adequate personal time is so essential to maintaining balance and if nurses don’t know when they’ll have to work and when they won’t, how could they ever plan a vacation? It’s one of the key ways hospital policies need to change to ensure nurses will be happy, healthy, and always performing at their best. Many nurses enter the nursing field out of a sense of altruism and selflessness—but remember, they need to be taken care of, too.
If you’re a nurse who would like some more work/life balance, consider applying to work for HEDIS. Your schedule will be flexible and you can work from home. For more info, call (877) 328-2343 or email info@datafied.com today.
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