Pat Ball, general manager at Sage Growth Partners, discusses the question of effectively utilizing overtime in a recent API Healthcare blog.
Mr. Ball notes that overtime can be a good solution for a short-term staffing issue. However, when overtime shifts become more of a norm, problems will begin to arise.
Mr. Ball references a few studies to support this.
– The risk of making an error more than doubles when nurses work 12.5+ consecutive horus
– Nurses working shifts of 13+ are 2.57 times more likely to seriously consider leaving their job in the next year than nurses who work 8-9 hours
– As nurses work more hours, patients are more likely to rank hospitals 6 out of 10 or below in HCAHPS.
While overtime may seem easier than hiring a full-time nurse, it will lead to greater problems down the line.
