blood alcohol concentration (
6- One area that I observed that could be studied more is the long shifts that nurses are required to work. This leads to fatigue and risk of medical mistakes. Industrial research over much of the 20th century indicates worker productivity declines significantly after 10 to 12 hours of work (ANA journal, 2017). A tired nurse is more likely to make errors, putting themselves and patients at risk. Its normal for nurse to work 12 hours shift, however, many times after a challenging 12 hour,s nurses are expected to put in another 4 or so hours when the need arises. Furthermore, many nurses have a long commute home, so they are up for another 6 -8 hours, as they need to take care of their families. After which, possible a few hours’ sleep and back to another long challenging shift. With all this, many nurses are studying and must find time for classes and assignment, which mean less time for rest. According to U.S. Army studies, staying awake for 17 hours is functionally equivalent to having a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.05%; staying awake for 24 hours equates to a BAC of 0.10%. (In most states, it’s illegal to drive with a BAC of 0.08% or higher.) It further states that loss of even one night’s sleep can lead to short-term memory deficits and impaired cognitive functioning and the risk of bloodborne-pathogen exposure for workers increases during the last 2 hours of a 12-hour shift (ANA journal, 2017).
Injury risk and the risk for patient error as risen significantly. These risks are not worth the convenience of 12-hour shifts, therefore more studied should be done to highlight the negative effect overwork has on the body and the risk associated with nursing fatigue. The aim is to improve patient safety, nurses’ safety and job satisfaction and not vice versa.
Reference
Are extended work hours’ worth the risk? (2017, November 08). Retrieved from https://www.americannursetoday.com/are-extended-work-hours-worth-the-risk/
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