Arguments Against Mandatory Overtime
Mandatory Overtime
Many hospitals are understaffed and make their nurses work overtime. Employers try to save money by having their employees work overtime rather than hiring more people. However, having nurses work overtime is an ethical issue. It affects the lives of the patients and the nurses.
Mandatory Overtime as an Ethical Issue
Mandatory overtime is important in nursing because it affects the care we are giving to our clients. In recent studies it has shown that long work hours can lead to adverse nursing and patient outcomes (Bae & Champion, 2012). Longer work hours do not allow the nurse to give the patient the care they deserve. It increases medication errors, nosocomial infections, and patient falls (Bae & Champion, 2012). Nurses are administering medications, which if they are administered incorrectly could lead to death. Nosocomial infections account for 20 billion dollars in healthcare each year (Bae & Yoon, 2014). We could reduce this number drastically by banning mandatory overtime. Although hospitals would not be saving money by hiring more nurses, they would be saving money in the long run because there would be a decrease in the number of nosocomial infections. Patient falls would also decrease if mandatory overtime were banned. Overall, patient’s health, which is the most important, would increase if …show more content…
There is a limit on the number of hours these occupations can work because they are operating vehicles. However, many do not think about how nurses have to drive home after working for 12+ hours. There have been many lawsuits, including recent and local lawsuits, where nurses are killed in car accidents on their way home from working mandatory overtime. By operating a motor vehicle after working mandatory overtime puts the nurse’s life at risk and the lives of
Many hospitals are understaffed and make their nurses work overtime. Employers try to save money by having their employees work overtime rather than hiring more people. However, having nurses work overtime is an ethical issue. It affects the lives of the patients and the nurses.
Mandatory Overtime as an Ethical Issue
Mandatory overtime is important in nursing because it affects the care we are giving to our clients. In recent studies it has shown that long work hours can lead to adverse nursing and patient outcomes (Bae & Champion, 2012). Longer work hours do not allow the nurse to give the patient the care they deserve. It increases medication errors, nosocomial infections, and patient falls (Bae & Champion, 2012). Nurses are administering medications, which if they are administered incorrectly could lead to death. Nosocomial infections account for 20 billion dollars in healthcare each year (Bae & Yoon, 2014). We could reduce this number drastically by banning mandatory overtime. Although hospitals would not be saving money by hiring more nurses, they would be saving money in the long run because there would be a decrease in the number of nosocomial infections. Patient falls would also decrease if mandatory overtime were banned. Overall, patient’s health, which is the most important, would increase if …show more content…
There is a limit on the number of hours these occupations can work because they are operating vehicles. However, many do not think about how nurses have to drive home after working for 12+ hours. There have been many lawsuits, including recent and local lawsuits, where nurses are killed in car accidents on their way home from working mandatory overtime. By operating a motor vehicle after working mandatory overtime puts the nurse’s life at risk and the lives of