12 Hour Shift In Nursing

The concept of a 12 hour shift for nurses developed in the 1970s as a solution to the nursing shortage that existed and still exists in both the United States and globally. Since the implementation of 12 hour shifts, studies have revealed additional benefits. Nurses are more content and satisfied, reporting “higher job satisfaction and less emotional exhaustion” (Stone, 2006, p. 1103). Patient safety and satisfaction is enriched “through improved communication, increased continuity of care, and more content staff” (Bloodworth, 2001, p. 33). During 12 hour shifts “nurses spent more time with patients” (Dallas, 1975, p. 48), “had more time to make their rounds, read charts, confer about problems, and develop good patient-care plans” (Dallas, 1975, pp. 51-52). Additionally, “there were fewer communication problems with only one shift change-over each 24 hours” (Dallas, 1975, p. 51). Other advantages of the 12 hour shift include improved work performance and productivity, decreased attendance problems, and decreased need to utilize agency or temporary staff.
These studies assume caregiver fatigue related to shift length is directly related to these medical mistakes. The consensus therefore, is to end the 12 hour shift for nurses. These studies, however, fail miserably at identifying the integrated and complex causes of medical mistakes; conclusions are drawn based on incomplete information and piecemeal data analysis. The big picture reveals that the majority of medical mistakes are multifactorial, systemic errors with many