Nurse Fatigue Essay

Nurse Fatigue Nurse fatigue is experienced every day in the nursing field, it is the inadequate adaptation and restoration of work energy (Drake, Luna, Georges, & Steege, 2012). Nurse fatigue can be emotional, physical or mental, it can also be a feeling of weariness, tiredness, lack of energy or having trouble performing at work (Drake, Luna, Georges, & Steege, 2012). Also it can be caused by working long shifts and causing exhaustion from staff burnout, leading to an adverse effect on patient outcome. It is a huge threat to patient safety. Fatigue can also cause a negative impact on nurse safety, and there is an increased risk in causing injury with a worker that is tired (Maust, 2015). Studies have shown that nursing fatigue is related to the shift length nurses work, and nursing performance can be impaired and increases the chance of making an error (Maust, 2015). The nurses who work 12.5 hours have a risk three times greater for making errors (Mason, Leavitt & Chaffee, 2014).
Nurses are also responsible to assess fatigue related symptoms that could put them and others at risk and intervene immediately (Phillip & Maffett, 2014). Risk management can assess for fatigue-related risks such as staff working overtime, being under staff and policies that encourages over time. To prevent work fatigue employers can provide compensation and an appropriate staffing system which will allow nurses to work in a safe and healthful environment in which the nurses will not feel compelled to seek supplemental income by working overtime which will lead to fatigue (Phillip & Maffett, 2014). The Center for American Nurses recommend for nurses to build a workplace policies together with employers and requiring no employee should be forced to work overtime (Mason, Leavitt & Chaffee,