Nursing Shift Guidelines

The regular hour working shift of nurses before was 8 hours. But times have changed and nurses now work 12-hour shifts.

Although there are many reasons why facilities and nurses prefer working 12-hour shifts, advocates of 8-hour shifts say that if a nurse works longer than 10 hours, there will be a lack of effectiveness and safety.

If you are creating a work schedule for your nurses, then here are some things to consider.

Patient needs or staffing demands make nurses actually work more the 12 hours. Even if the nurses schedule has ended, nurses have no choice but to work past it. Registered nurses are not protected by any work-hour policy in the country. So while on paper, the 12 hour shift may look great, in eality the shifts can turn into 13 or more hours.

If a nurse works a very long shift, then she is very prone to error. The likelihood of errors is increased when nurses work longer hours.

You don’t expose yourself to injuries or burn out if you follow an 8-hour shift. Nurses who work long hours can suffer from workplace injuries due to sleep deprivation and slower reaction times as a result. Research has shown that nurses who work more than 10 hours will more likely experience burnout.

With the medical nurses provide, we can see their importance to a patient’s life. Nurses are important to give patients medical attention and care.

These are less turnover for patients if nurses have 12-hour shifts. A tired nurse who has to work overtime will not be able to properly take care of her patients.

Long shifts can impact nurses’ health negatively. If a nurse works longer shifts then her workdays will be fewer and less time overall commuting to work. There is more flexibility with longer shifts. With longer shifts you stay home longer as well. 8-hour shifts mean that staff can be home for several hours a day. Four-day weekends are given to nurses who work for 12-hour shifts. With 12-hour shifts there is scheduling flexibility for your nurses. It reduces absenteeism, increases retention and boosts morale.

If you are management, then it is easier to work with longer shifts. It only take scheduling two shifts a day. There will be varied with start and end times with shorter shift. You can get confused with this. In order to keep track of employees’ work hours use an employee time clock.

Each organization will have a different nursing shift. Your staff, your patients, and your bottom line will definitely be affected by the shifts and so the things mentioned above should help you think about this.

employee time clock employee time clock employee time clock
employee time clock employee time clock employee time clock
employee time clock employee time clock employee time clock
employee time clock employee time clock employee time clock
employee time clock

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