Twelve vs. Eight Hours Shift Length Effect on Nursing

Abstract

Record ID: 94

Student Major: Nursing

Project Advisor: Paul Lewis

Abstract: In intensive care nursing settings, the substantial workload and high acuity care patients increase nursing fatigue and exhaustion. A cross sectional study found that 69% of a sample of critical care nurses were experiencing burnout, high levels of stress, and exhaustion when working 12 hour shifts. The purpose of our education session is to teach intensive care nurses and managers about the effects that shift length has on nurses' employment experience, including fatigue, job satisfaction, health, and burnout prevalence. We found ten peer-reviewed articles through PubMed and Google Scholar that discussed the nurses' job experience related to twelve and eight hour shifts. The question that our project is answering is: In intensive care nursing, what is the effect of the implementation of eight hour shift lengths compared to twelve hour shift lengths on a nurse's employment experience? We will deliver an educational session to a group of critical care nurses at Mercy Health Western Hills through a Powerpoint and educational handouts. We will illustrate the risks of twelve hour shifts on nursing fatigue, the influence of burnout, the prevalence of stress and exhaustion, and the benefits of eight hour shifts. The outcome of our educational session will be measured through a pre and post test given to the attendees to assess their knowledge. Results are pending