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Medscape: Yet Another Study Underscores the Need for Legislation to Ban Mandatory Overtime

As the MNA/NNU continues its campaign to convince legislators to pass legislation to ban the dangerous practice of mandatory overtime, a new study in the journal Nursing Economics provides compelling evidence of the prevalence, causes and the need for legislation to mitigate this threat to patient and nurse safety. Here are some highlights from the study:

  • To provide the best care to patients, the physical wellness of nursing staff is essential.
  • Current evidence indicates long work hours can lead to adverse nurse and patient outcomes.
  • The number one reason nurses (68%) gave for working overtime (both mandatory and voluntary) was because they didn’t want to let their colleagues down.
  • To provide quality and safe patient care, both staff nurses and nurse managers need to recognize the adverse effects of overtime, whether it is mandatory or voluntary.
  • Understaffing was an underlying condition of the nursing practice in the study sample.
  • Thus, efforts must be made not only to prevent nurses from working long hours, but also to resolve the problem of understaffing in order to retain qualified nurses in hospitals Follow the link below to view the entire study.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/762684?src=emailthis