Interactive Case Study

2/6/22, 6:28 PM Nurs440: Overstaffing

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Yes, understaffing does impact the quality of care and may lead to increased rates of infection. As registered professional nurses, we must ensure that we are all practicing safely and are not fatigued, because understaffing goes hand-in-hand with nurse fatigue.

Narrator: Yes, understaffing does im pact the quality of care and m ay lead to increased rates of infection. As registered professional nurses, we m ust ensure that we are all practicing safely and are not fatigued, because understaffing goes hand-in-hand with nurse fatigue. According to the Nursing Staffing Strategy, 69 percent of health care professionals surveyed said that fatigue caused them to feel concern over their ability to perform during work hours. Additionally, nearly 65 percent of participants reported they had alm ost m ade an error at work because of fatigue. The aging nurse population and nursing work shifts that are longer than eight hours can also have an im pact on errors and fatigue. When discussing the aging nurse, according to Reese, the director of Kronos ( K. Brim m er 2013) in “2008, the average age of nurses was 45.5. The average age is probably closer to 52 now and we’ve found that the aging workforce tires easily and working extra shifts doesn’t help. These highly skilled workers have to m ake critical decisions related to patient care and if doing

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