Fatigue is a dangerous part of nursing. With a shortage of nurses and an overwhelming need within the health care system for nurses, the amount of nurses working long shifts is a regular part of the job. Long shifts and lack of sleep lead to fatigue that can be dangerous for nurses and patients. Fighting fatigue is something that must be done to ensure everyone is kept safe and that nurses can provide the healthcare services that they need at a level of excellence that should be expected.
Most nurses know when they are too fatigued to carry out their job duties, but employers often do not listen to their protests. This is leading to the risk of medical errors among nurses increasing at an alarming rate. Errors from nurse fatigue can led to infections, bleeding and cardiac arrest.
Nurse fatigue is caused by long working hours, mandatory overtime and understaffing. Nurses are having to pull extra shifts and work more because there are just not enough qualified nurses to go around. Nurses are considered the backbone of the health industry and they have many job duties. A nurse can handle many duties at once and she is held to high standards. The stress combined with the lack of sleep all adds up to a nurse that is just too worn out to properly perform.
Nurse fatigue does not just put patients in danger. It can be a danger to the nurse, too. A fatigued nurse is at risk for many injuries, especially those injuries of the back, shoulders and neck. It can also lead to hypertension, cardiovascular disease and even depression.
Nurse fatigue is recognized, but it is a difficult thing to battle. Every hospital and health care facility relies on nurses to provide patient care. Nurses are responsible for giving medications, maintaining IV s and watching over the patient. They are a major part of the system and the system cannot operate without them.
Since there are simply just not enough nurses it becomes a challenge for administers to keep a full staff and maintain reasonable schedules for nurses. This struggle is what has led to nurse fatigue being one of the most dangerous problems for nurses and medical facilities.
Fixing the problem is not easy. It starts with first researching and finding out what limits should be in place for nursing schedules and workload. Administration and nursing staff must work together to come up with schedules that work for everyone. There has to be a group effort working towards wiping out nurse fatigue.
Nurse fatigue affects everyone. A fatigued nurse is more likely to make errors in their work. They are more likely to have accidents on and off the job. They are really a danger to themselves and everyone around them. There must be a solution found to stop this easily preventable problem. There should be a push to get more people into the nursing professional and strides made to help set up current nurses with a comfortable schedule that prevents them from ending up fatigued
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