What Are Mandatory Overtime Hours In Nursing

Alyssa DeMarco

NYIT: Department of Nursing Short-Staffed, Workplace Violence and Mandatory Overtime:

An IOM Nursing Issues Paper

I view nursing as a process of continuous growth and pursuit of knowledge to provide competent compassionate care. Registered Nursing Professionals try to deliver the highest level of patient care to ensure satisfaction; however, they face many challenges and issues that hinder their ability to properly deliver client care. There are various issues in nursing that needs to be addressed and this paper will focus on three: nursing workforce shortage, nursing violence and mandatory overtime hours. These issues have a direct effect on patient care and this paper aims to discuss the impact they have on the nursing field.

To offset the nursing shortage in the United States, mandatory overtime has become a more prevalent complaint among nurses. The term overtime includes, “mandatory overtime, coerced, and extended hours; working on an off day; having on call hours and varied quantifications of hours per week and hours per extended shift.” (Wheatley, 2017) Studies have shown that extra hours can cause harmful consequences to both the nurse and patient. According to a journal article, Nursing Overtime: Should it be regulated? By Cathleen Wheatley, there has been a link between overtime and nursing. This article describes the possible hazards due to mandatory overtime such as, “needle-stick and musculoskeletal injuries, fatigue, illness, absenteeism, burnout, job dissatisfaction, and turnover intent.” (Wheatley, 2017) Mandatory overtime can lead to increased medication errors and adverse patient outcomes. A major reason why there has been workplace dissatisfaction is due to overtime, working on weekends, nights and holidays which many nurses tend to look for jobs elsewhere. Routinely, some hospitals use mandatory hours in order to “keep fewer people off the payroll.”(Huston, pg. 137) If nurses don’t do their mandatory overtime hours they may face consequences such as losing their job (Wheatley, 2017). Many nurses feel as though they have no voice in

Nursing violence can be misunderstood because it is more than just the physical aspect of violence but there is a nonphysical component that can affect an individual’s emotional or psychological well-being. (Huston, 2014, pg. 149) There is a discrepancy between the interdisciplinary healthcare workforce and nurses should be considered full partners with physicians and other health professionals. (Foundations, 2011, pg. 222) There are many types of violence in nursing that can occur from other nurses, patients, managers, visitors, and physicians Nurse to nurse violence is commonly referred to as horizontal violence. (Huston, 2017, pg151) Horizontal violence are behaviors that hinder nursing job satisfaction, impact job performance and put a lot of pressure on the nurse. According to the Joint Commission “intimidating and disruptive behaviors” can facilitate medication errors, lower patient satisfaction and lead to adverse patient outcomes. (Lachman, 2014) There is no singular solution to this problem and people have the right to work in a safe and healthy environment – regardless of setting. Victims need proper support and the offenders need to have discipline in order to correct this issue. Based on the article, Impact of Workplace of Workplace Mistreatment on Patient Safety Risk and Nurse-Assed Patient Outcomes, suggest that organizations should have a zero tolerance policy and to