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A Brief Note On Nurses And Nurses ' Rights And Lobbies On Healthcare Related Matters

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Summary of Position Paper
Nurses encounter many difficulties on the job such as working long hours, which results in fatigue and inadequate patient safety. Fortunately, the American Nurses Association who supports nurses’ rights and lobbies on healthcare related matters has taken a stance in support of this issue. In their position statement, Addressing Nurse Fatigue to Promote Safety and Health: Joint Responsibilities of Registered Nurses and Employers to Reduce Risks facilitates measures to be taken by nurses and employers to alleviate nursing fatigue and decrease the risks in providing patient safety.
The ANA stance is that it is the nurses ethical responsibility as well as their employer to place the measures necessary to avoid the …show more content…

This starts with the nurses declining assignments when they know they are unable to provide optimal care having worked extended hours. It is the employer 's responsibility to take into account nursing schedules to accommodate a healthy work culture where there is an equal life work balance and nurses are given enough time to recuperate from prior shifts. The ANA has made recommendations for nurses and employers to combat this problem. Nurses are suggested to receive 7-9 hours of sleep in a conductive sleeping environment, take account commute to work prior to accepting a job offer, as well as alternative transportation to and from work such as taxi bus, car pooling. As for the employers, limit work weeks to 40 hours, work shifts to 12, and utilize predicable schedules so nurses plan accordingly. The ANA recommendations are in effort on the part of the nurse and employers to ethically and effectively provide efficient patient care by reducing the amount of work hours a nurse can work to help balance and equal work life balance as well as reduce nursing fatigue.
Impact of issue on nursing
Nurses
It should be taken into consideration that one aspect is that extended hours can affect the nurses overall health. For instance, in the ANA position statement, it is referenced that shift work impacts the safety and health of nurses and was associated with sleep disturbances, mood disorders,

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