Abstract
The environment of health organizations can determine healthcare quality and patient safety. Longer working hours can be associated with nursesâ health status and care quality, as well as work-related hazards. However, little is known about the association of hospital nursesâ working hours and patient safety competencies with adverse nurse outcomes. In this cross-sectional descriptive study, convenience sampling was employed to recruit 380 nurses from three tertiary care hospitals in South Korea. Data were collected using structured questionnaires from May to June 2016. Hierarchical linear regression analysis was used to identify the association of working hours and patient competencies with adverse nurse outcomes among 364 participants selected for analysis. Most nurses worked over 40 h/week. Working hours (ÎČ = 0.202, p < 0.001) had the strongest association with adverse nurse outcomes. Low perceived patient safety competencies (ÎČ = â0.179, p = 0.001) and frequently reporting patient safety accidents (ÎČ = 0.146, p = 0.018) were also correlated with adverse nurse outcomes. Nursing leaders should encourage work cultures where working overtime is discouraged and patient safety competencies are prioritized. Further, healthcare managers must formulate policies that secure nursesâ rights. The potential association of overtime with nurse and patient outcomes needs further exploration.
Highlights
Patientsâ health problems and their care needs are constantly increasing with population aging [1,2,3].healthcare environments have gradually become more specialized and demanding [4]
Considering the need to solve the problem of the nursing shortage in South Korea, the present study aimed to examine the correlation of working hours and patient safety (PS) competencies with adverse nurse outcomes, with the ultimate goal of determining ways to improve nursing outcomes
In our study, the number of nurses working more than 50 h/week was lower in the intensive care unit than in internal medicine or surgery wards, presumably because its ratio of patients to nurses is relatively smaller, and working overtime is usually not necessary
Summary
Healthcare environments have gradually become more specialized and demanding [4]. Within these changing healthcare systems, the requirement of high-quality and optimal patient care from nurses has remained constant [5]. In South Korea, turnover among nurses with less than one year of experience is a matter of particular concern [7]. In response to this shortage, the government has increased the number of nursing schools to expand the supply of nurses. These efforts have increased the number of licensed nurses, but failed to increase the number of practicing nurses [8]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
