Legislative Shift

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Planning for a Legislative Visit There is an ongoing debate on whether or not twelve hour or longer shift in nursing profession is better than eight-hour shift. The literature provides evidence that eight-hour shifts are favorable compared to twelve hour or longer shifts because the longer shifts place patient safety and nurses’ health at risk. According to research, nurses get burnout and fatigue from working extended hour shifts, which increase the nurses’ possibility of creating mistakes and compromise patient safety (Witkoski Stimpfel et. al., 2012). In addition, nurses get less time to sleep or socialize and become exhausted from working long hour shifts which can ultimately affect on nurses’ health (Walker, 2009). In short, twelve hour or longer shifts in nursing is a …show more content…
There is no literature available about previous actions taken to solve the issue; however the evidence shows that twelve hour or longer shifts are not beneficial for either patients or nurses. Upon reviewing a number of studies, Geiger-Brown and Trinkoff (2010) found that five studies out of seven demonstrated that nurses become more exhausted from working twelve hour or longer shifts than nurses who work eight-hour or shorter shifts. The authors also found that there are three times greater chances for nurses to make medical mistakes compared to nurses who work shorter shifts. It is important to discuss with the legislator about why the issue is significant in nursing. According to the Code of Ethics, nurses are not supposed to harm the patients. Patients may be injured or harmed unintentionally by nurses due to burnout and fatigue caused by working long hour shifts. This is one of the reasons why the issue of twelve hour or longer shifts is important to consider in