Nurses Should Not Work for Long Hours (Essay Sample)

Nurses Should Not Work for Long Hours
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Outline
Introduction
Chances of Making Errors
Low-Quality Services
Intentions to Leave Employers
Minimizing Cost
Conclusion
Nurses Should Not Work for Long Hours
Registered nurses are some of the essential practitioners in the health sector. The length of their shifts raises a question of whether it affects the output of their services. This essay argues that nurses should work shorter shifts as it is a gateway to delivering quality services. Even though there is a need to minimize the cost of hiring registered nurses, more extended workdays lead to chances of making errors, low-quality services, and intentions to leave employers.
Chances of Making Errors
Long working hours of registered nurses lead to increased risk of making errors. According to Banakhar (2017), the performance of registered nurses is affected by long working hours. The chances of making errors are increased due to strain and struggle to keep oneself awake because of insufficient sleep. Rajan (2017) explains that nurses' attention is affected by long working hours, leading to increased probability of making mistakes while on duty. Long working hours result in nurses' physical and psychological fatigue, hence the tendency to forget or skip their work procedures. With the utmost sensitivity of their services, such errors can be too critical to the patient's wellbeing. Therefore, there is a need for hospital management to check on the effects associated with nurses working for long shifts and adjust the duration of shifts accordingly. The number of hours per shift should be reduced so that nurses do not make mistakes.
Low-Quality Services
Longer working hours lead to nurses' low quality of services, leaving some necessary tasks unattended. According to Ball et al. (2017), nurses working for over twelve hours were at risk of delivering low-quality medication, unlike their counterparts working eight-hour shifts. Ball et al. (2017) further explain that death cases were more frequent in hospitals where nurses work for a longer duration than in hospitals where nurses work shorter shifts. Patients showed dissatisfaction with services from registered nurses who worked longer hours than those working shorter shifts. Many health services are left unattended by registered nurses serving twelve-hour shifts, compared to those working eight-hour shifts. Working extended shifts affects fatigue levels, thus the quality of services. Patients' outcomes and views clarify that nurses' shifts need to be shorter to avoid negative implications brought about by long working hours.
Intentions to Leave Employers
Developing a poor attitude and attempts to quit the nursing profession results from extreme working hours. According to Özer et al. (2017), most registered nurses who worked for twelve hours a shift had the intent to leave the employer as opposed to those who worked for eight hours. He stated that nurses who worked for twelve hours expressed greater dissatisfaction, unlike those who worked for eight hours. Hence, there is a need to reduce each shift's duration of registered nurses to prevent nurses’ intentions to quit. The intent to leave the employer is also linked to the fact that nurses working for twelve hours a shift have fewer hours to socialize with their family members. Banakhar (2017) explains that some nurses had less time with their families to the point that personal life came second after their profession. They have less time to relieve themselves of the pressure resulting from their work, thus get demoralized and change their attitudes. They also experience physical strain that affects their health (Rajan, 2017). Therefore, this makes some of the nurses think of quitting their jobs. 
Minimizing Cost
On the other hand, having registered nurses work longer hours helps cut the need for several of them and instead utilizes the few registered nurses available, minimizing the cost. According to Ball et al. (2017), nurses serving for twelve hours a shift reduce the number of overlaps, decreasing the workforce's number of workers, thus lowering the general cost of employing registered nurses. Similarly, less number of registered nurses reduces the employer's accommodation capacity, thus saving much money for an employer. However, considering that nurses deal with life and death situations, it is ironic to fight for costs at the expense of patients' life (Banakhar, 2017). If more money spent on registered nurses guarantees patients' safety, more should be