study found the likelihood of a nurse
reporting occasional or frequent wrong
medication or dose administration
increased by 2 percent for each
additional hour of voluntary paid
overtime worked each week.
5
Another
study found medication errors and
hospital-acquired infections are each
more than three-times as likely when
nurses work more than 40 hours per
week.
6
Overtime is related to the patient experience in other indirect ways, as well. A
hospital employee who has worked more than 40 hours may experience
fatigue, burnout and reduced engagement. A 2012 study published in Health
Affairs found a positive correlation between shift length and the
likelihood of adverse nurse outcomes such as burnout. In
short: the longer the shift, the greater chances of nurse
exhaustion. The study also found patients were
less satisfied with their care when there
were greater proportions of nurses
working shifts of 13 or more hours.
Furthermore, larger percentages
of patients in hospitals with
more nurses working 13-
plus hour shifts reported
nurses sometimes or never
communicated well, pain
was sometimes or never
well controlled, and they
sometimes or never
received help as soon as
they wanted.
7
Medication errors and
hospital-acquired infections
are each more than three-
times as likely when nurses
work more than 40 hours
per week.
