Many theories exist in nursing today and are used as a guide to practice, and as well as providing a framework for nursing research. The purpose of theory in nursing is to provide an improvement in practice and positively to influence the health and wellness of persons, families and the community. In nursing, there should be a mutual relationship between theory and practice, practice providing the basis for nursing theory development where theory is validated in practice (McEwen, 2014). The problem of nurse fatigue continues to plague healthcare organizations worldwide because of long working hours, accepting extra assignments and sleep deprivation that can be dangerous for both nurse and patient. These inadequacies cause compromises patient …show more content…
The impact of nurse fatigue resulting from extended work hours, sleeplessness and accepting extra assignments can lead to numerous problems; some of these problems include but not limited to the following; inability to focus, reduced motivation, impaired or lack of communication, delayed reaction time to a critical event that can occur, example, code call. Personal injury can occur that poses an occupational hazard for nurses since serious injuries can occur of varying degree. The nurses’ duty can be physically demanding which can have a negative effect on patient safety and workforce health (Repique, …show more content…
Hans Selye’s Theory of Stress is a borrowed theory that can be applied to address the issue of nurse fatigue. Hans Selye was born in 1907 in Hungary and died in 1982, and became an endocrinologist after attending school in Germany. Dr. Selye’s specialty was endocrinology where he studied the effects of stress on the human body. He began performing experiments on rats to find a hormone when he observed that the rats were becoming ill. The rats were becoming ill because of the different injections administered and the various processes they were put through. A new hormone was not about to be discovered, but he tried to ascertain why they were responding the same to the chemicals
Caused by the constant demands of work and lack of taking breaks, burnout is a challenge in itself and can get even worse if gone untreated. More and more nurses have begun to feel the effects of burnout, raising a dire concern that healthcare workers while taking care of others, must also remember to care for themselves which can, unfortunately, go neglected when the work is so heavily focused on saving the lives of
Diminished personal accomplishment is to evaluate oneself negatively because of failure a result it occurs when the individual’s external demands become higher than their coping ability.(Maslach, Schaufeli, leiter., 2001) . Many studies revealed that there is a high prevalence of burnout among nurses worldwide, it can affect approximately 45% of medical and nursing staff .(Abdo, El-Sallamy, El-Sherbiny, & Kabbash., 2015) . Bases upon several studies 25% to 33% of critical care nurses have a symptom of sever burnout syndrome.(Moss, Good, Gozal, Kleinpell, & Sessler., 2016). BURNOUT AMONG NURSES AND QUALITY OF CARE
When thinking about my personal philosophy of nursing the word diversity comes to mind. I myself come from a diverse background. Being Hispanic and living in different parts of the united states I have had the pleasure of experiencing different cultures. As a nurse, I have encountered diverse patient experiences. For example the Chinese elderly woman who would not take her medication or eat.
Introduction Mandatory overtime is a topic most nurses are familiar with. Due to nurse shortages, nurses are often expected to work extra hours in addition to their regular hours. By mandating nurses to work extra hours, it prevents a unit from having to work understaffed and patients will have needs meet. The ill effect of mandating nurses to work overtime greatly outweighs the benefits.
This nature of work can have devastating effects on the health and wellbeing of a nurse. There are three concepts related to adverse consequences of caring work: these are compassion fatigue, burnout and vicarious traumatization.
With a nurse shortage, patients are not getting the best quality care they should be getting. Archive stated that hospital nurse staffing, is a matter of major concern because of the effects it can have on patient safety and the quality care patients deserve. Nursing-sensitive outcomes is an indicator of the quality care and can be defined as variable patient or family caregiver state, condition, or perception responsive to nursing intervention. Some unfortunate patient outcomes potentially sensitive to nursing care are shock, urinary tract infections (UTIs), pneumonia, longer hospital stays, upper gastrointestinal bleeding, failure to rescue, and 30-day mortality. Research has focused on negative rather than the positive patient outcomes for the simple reason that adverse outcomes are more likely to be documented in the medical record.
In less acute circumstances, long term outcome of understaffing can also be detrimental to patient condition. Often, when a staff member is overwhelmed with the workload, nursing actions which are perceived less critical may be pushed to the back burner. Debilitated patients may not be turned and repositioned resulting in hospital acquired pressure ulcers, which not only affects patient outcome, but also taxes the hospital
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nursing is the nation’s largest healthcare profession. Registered Nurses who work in the emergency room should be required to be psychologically evaluated in their position because they handle stressful situations. In addition, they witness a numerous amount of traumatic events such as deaths and major body deformations. Therefore, these events can cause personal issues over a long period of time, such as emotional, physical, and psychological actions that scars nurses throughout their profession. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) within a nurse’s profession is likely to occur when they experience a traumatic event, and causes an individual to suffer.
This occurs when nurses provide care to more than the assigned patients, thus increasing patient workload. It affects the patient’s quality of care, increasing the risk for NSOs and other patient complications. Not only are patient outcomes affected, but nurses are experiencing increased burnout and fatigue. A safe nurse is necessary when providing care to ensure a safe and stable patient outcome. These concerns can be preventable by implementing and assigning the necessary tools to minimize effects on nurses and patient
5 NURSING PROCESS The nursing process is a series of organized steps designed for nurses to provide excellent care. Learn the five phases, including assessing, diagnosing, planning, implementing, and evaluating. 5:1 Personnel Context As a nurse can make a huge difference in the health of my patients by many methods.
It is important to identify why nurses are becoming stressed and how to reduce work related stress. The past 10 years there has been an increase in stress levels for nursing staff. In 2001 a survey was conducted by “American Nurses Association”. The study results showed that 70.5% of nurses cited the acute and chronic effects of stress and overwork among their top three health and safety
The awareness of stress was increased after World War II when it was noticed that many routine life events like examinations, growing up increases stress and leads to dysfunction (Lazarus, 1993). The word stress was used by Hans Selye for the first time to explain the effects of threats that disturbs homeostasis (Chrousos, 1992; Selye, 1978). Walter B. Cannon explained the role of adrenal glands and sympathetic nervous system in maintenance of body equilibrium after exposure to threat. Hans Selye’s observation -” common feeling of being sick” in patients with different diseases laid path for definition of stress. He defined stress as a set of non-specific responses collectively called as” General Adaptation Syndrome”.
An ordinary day of a nurse is filled with enduring hours of physical, mental, and emotional work. A nurse always has to be on their feet and ready to go. They must be ready face the obstacles placed upon them, and make life and death decisions in the snap of a finger. This is not an easy job by any means, and can leave you run-down at the end of the day. It may feel as though the day is a never-ending cycle, but it is so worth the health and happiness of others in
Nurses fatigue is growing problem nurse face each day in the healthcare environment, and he can be caused by long hours, sleep deprivation, and possibly by accepting extra assignments can be dangerous for both nurses and patient. These inadequacies can result in major implications for the health and safety of registered nurses and can compromise patient care which can lead to fatalities. (American Nurses Association, 2014). In my experience, being fatigued from working much 12-hour shifts consecutively was very difficult as I felt extremely tired, resulting in lack of focus, missing important details during the handing over the process with impaired cognitive functioning. This I found was detrimental to the patients and myself as it impedes quality and has a deleterious effect on patient safety.
Just like a saw needs to stop being used in order to be sharpened, a nurse needs time off to recuperate; it’s as simple as that (Covey, 1989). It is important not to burn the candle at both ends, working more than the designated shifts and longer than 12 hours should be avoided. An example used regarding medication errors and working too many hours involves a nurse working a double shift on a pediatric oncology unit didn’t correctly prime an IV line and caused cardiac arrest in a patient (Kelley, 2004). Although nurses work three days a week, their hours remain the same as other full time employees that work the typical 5 day schedule. A nurse’s time off should be valued because they are the last line for patient care, they are the ones administering the medication the doctor prescribes and the pharmacy makes (Kelley, 2004).