Read on Twitter
So @BrianWebster18 tweeted a question I asked to @RCNScot students and NQNs yesterday night: “What do you think about 12-h shifts?”
It triggered a Twitterstorm! I will try to unpack the many comments and point to some of the research. @WeStudentNurse @StNurseProject @WeNurses https://twitter.com/BrianWebster18/status/1321882368932794369
It triggered a Twitterstorm! I will try to unpack the many comments and point to some of the research. @WeStudentNurse @StNurseProject @WeNurses https://twitter.com/BrianWebster18/status/1321882368932794369
1. Someone commented that it’s worth knowing the history of 12-h shifts – I agree! 12-h shifts were implemented thinking they would fix the staffing shortage and save staffing costs by reducing unnecessary overlaps.
2. However, our research found that 12-h shifts can lead to higher resource use - see: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jonm.12704
3. A few respondents added that 12-h shifts are great for continuity of care because patients see the same nurse every day. However, we found that 12-h shifts are not associated with higher continuity of patient care https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666142X20300011
4. Many pointed to the additional days off as a benefit of 12-h shifts. While 12-h shifts mean you will have more days off, how many of these days are used for recovery from fatigue? Especially if you have worked a few shifts in a row? See: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2648.2010.05597.x
5. A user flagged that they hadn't looked into the safety aspect of 12-h shifts – here’s a study we did on that https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25226543/ as well as https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0020748915000735?via%3Dihub
6. In addition to the above, a few added that 12-h shifts might be safer for patients because of fewer handovers… well actually it does not seem so. See our study: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jocn.14977
7. When it comes to patient safety, 12-h shifts were also associated with higher risk of delaying vital signs observations in high acuity patients https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/1/e024778 and higher rates of missed care https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25226543/
8. It was also interesting to see someone raising the patient’s perspective – as a patient would I want to be looked after by a nurse working 12-h shifts? See: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3608421/
9. Many others pointed to the critical aspects of 12-h shifts, which are well represented in our research. It looks like the jury is out when it comes to preference – and this confirms that our new study is going to be really important https://www.arc-wx.nihr.ac.uk/research-areas/workforce-and-health-systems/nursing-shift-patterns-in-acute-community-and-mental-health-hospital-wards/
10. Any comments please do get in touch! We want our research to resonate with the experience of nurses and students.
