NURS 3001 Week 6 Discussion 2 – Genetics and Genomics

About the Course:

This course explores the historical, philosophical, and theoretical foundations of baccalaureate nursing practice. Emphasis is placed on professional nursing standards and guidelines, the development of nursing knowledge, and the role of nursing theory in directing nursing practice. Students will focus on developing a personal philosophy of nursing, review of evidence that supports the theoretical foundations of nursing practice, and an in-depth analysis of nursing theory that can be applied to their personal nursing practice. Open to students enrolled in the RN-BSN program. A grade of C+ or better is required in nursing courses to continue in the Nursing program. Pre and co-requisite courses must be taken as outlined in the Becker College RN-BSN curriculum plan.

NURS 3001 Section 13, Issues and Trends in Nursing

The Push for More: Overtime in the Workplace Sample Essay

While the nursing community continues to struggle amid the current nursing shortage, facilities are attempting to compensate. However, this compensation is at times mandating overtime for their employees. The facilities costs for overtime though is more than monetary when nurse and patient safety is put into question. The purpose of this paper is to explore the components of overtime in the workplace as well as how the state boards of nursing are regulating this issue.

Workplace Issue

As the nursing shortage continues, increased overtime in the workplace has become increasingly common. While some facilities may offer a monetary bonus or other incentives for voluntary overtime, there are facilities in select states that are mandating overtime for their employees. According to Nursing Economic$ (2013), overtime is a “practice used to control chronic understaffing”.

In order to provide adequate staffing in the workplace, hospitals are turning towards mandatory overtime. However, enabling mandatory overtime disregards patient safety or potential nursing errors caused a tired or overworked nurse. Hutson (2014) reports that nurses are witnessing increasing use of mandatory overtime to “solve staffing problems and fear potential consequences for safety and quality of care for their patients” (p. 190).

The BON and Workplace Issue

Founded in 1909, Missouri’s State Board of Nursing (BON) enabled the appointed board members to “protect the public by development and enforcement of state laws governing the safe practice of nursing (2015).  Within Missouri’s BON the Nurse Practice Act (NPA) as well as Missouri’s rules and regulations are set through the states legislation to specify the lawful daily practices that a nurse must adhere to as well as nursing standards and the scope of practice (2015).

Missouri is a state that has chosen not to enable mandatory overtime with the exception of an unforeseeable event. Through Missouri’s State BON rules and regulations, it is declared that facilities are “prohibited from requiring a nurse to work additional consecutive hours beyond the nurse’s predetermined schedule of hours when doing so may, in the nurse’s judgment, jeopardize patient safety” (BON, 2015). As the purpose of each states BON is to protect and provide the public with safe nursing practice, Missouri’s BON supports its’ nursing staff with the prohibition of mandatory overtime.

The American Nurses Association and Your Workplace Issue

            As healthcare workers, nurses look after and care for others health every day. However, if there is not anybody looking after the nurses, then patient care and safety are in jeopardy. This is a continued problem nurses are facing when mandatory overtime comes in effect. Due to understaffing and overtime, the American Nurses Association (ANA) states that “96 out of 100 nurses report feeling fatigued as the beginning of a shift” (2015).

In regards to mandatory overtime, the ANA reports that they are “pursuing the enactment of federal legislation to prohibit mandatory overtime” (2015). While facilities may feel that mandating overtime is the solution to inadequate staffing for their units, decreased patient and nurse satisfaction and safety should hold more value. Many states are now lobbying the prohibition of mandatory overtimes in order to avoid decreased safety for both the staff and the patient (ANA, 2015).

The ANA explains that while the nursing shortage has resulted in “fewer nurses working longer hours caring for sicker patients,” the need for action is greatly increased (2015). The ANA states that the continued inadequate staffing and overtime is only aiding in the nursing shortage as nurses are turning away from bedside care in order to avoid these problems. For this reason, the ANA is actively promoting nurses and staff to support safe staffing ratios through their states legislations. They go on to explain that with safe staffing ratios set through legislation, facilities see decreased avoidable medical errors and patient falls and death as well as retention of nursing staff (ANA, 2015).

Summary

While the nursing shortage did not happen overnight, the problem does not expect to be fixed overnight. However, through the ANAs support of prohibition of mandatory overtime as well as promotion of safe staffing ratios, nurses may start to feel safer at the bedside caring for patients. Pushing forward in the face of increased safety for nursing staff and the patients they care for is a goal for nurses worldwide. If nurses are being cared for then they are only able to better the care for others.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

American Nurses Association (ANA) (2015). Mandatory overtime. Retrieved from http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ThePracticeofProfessionalNursing/NurseStaffing/OvertimeIssues/mandatory12761.html

American Nurses Association (ANA) (2015). Nurse staffing plans and ratios. Retrieved from http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/Policy-Advocacy/State/Legislative-Agenda-Reports/State-StaffingPlansRatios

Bae, S. (2013). Presence of nurse mandatory overtime regulations and nurse and patient outcomes. Nursing Economic$, 31(2), 59-89. Retrieved from Walden Library Databases

Huston, C. J. (2014). Professional issues in nursing: Challenges and opportunities (3^rd ed). New

York: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins.

Missouri Division of Professional Registration, Board of Nursing (2015). Rules and statutes. Retrieved from http://pr.mo.gov/nursing-rules-statutes.asp.