Strategies to Overcome Nurse Fatigue and Stress Due to Long Working Hours

Running head: SCOPING RESEARCH PROPOSAL
How can we help the nurses to overcome or prevent fatigue and stress at work due to their long
working hours
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1SCOPING RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Introduction
Work time longer than 12 hours are quite common and popular among nurses working in
hospitals and directly affects the care that they deliver to the patients and the wellbeing of the
nursing professionals as well. The actual length of working shifts are most often unpredictable
due to the fluctuations in the needs and health demands of the patients and the unanticipated
charges of staffing. This subsequently results in working unplanned for overtime, beyond the
actual scheduled time of the nursing staff (Van Bogaert et al. 2013). Under circumstances when
the long working shifts are most often combined with overtime, and shifts that rotate between
night and day, the nursing staff show an increased likelihood of suffering from burnout and
fatigue that compromises the patient care.
Despite presence of certain regulations on the cumulative working time, and shift length
for the resident doctors, there are no appropriate policies on nursing work hours. In the words of
Caruso (2014) stress in workplace has been identified as a major risk factor that threatens the
health and safety of all employees. Owing to the constantly changing environment of the
healthcare sector, the working conditions are gradually becoming increasingly stressful and
demanding, thus increasing the work hours for the nursing staff and deteriorating their quality of
life and job satisfaction. This scoping project proposal will aim to suggest strategies and tools
that can be implemented to help the nurses overcome or prevent stress and fatigue at work, due
to their long working hours. This scoping project will act as the primary outline for the change
that is intended to be proposed in healthcare departments to reduce the workload, fatigue and
burnout among nurses, with the aim of lowering rates of clinical error. The scoping paper will

2SCOPING RESEARCH PROPOSAL
recognise the scope related to future work practice needed to help the nurses to overcome or
prevent fatigue and stress at work due to their long working hours.
Process and diagnostic tools for consultation
The proposal intends to conduct a consultation program over a period of one month,
where the nurses will be made to attend one hourly session with various stakeholders on alternate
days of a week. The consultation procedure will be observed from the perspective of both the
client and the consultant. Considering the different challenges that are associated with the
healthcare sector, nursing staff must be provided an opportunity to solve their problems that lead
to stress and fatigue due to workload and longer shift timings, and accomplish their goals. An
occupational health advisor will be involved in the program. Phillips et al. (2015) states that
occupational health advisors act as leaders of the public healthcare in workplaces and hold
specialization in caring and enhancing the wellbeing of all employees at work. Consultation with
such an advisor will enable the nursing staff to assess their needs and issues, with the aim of
promoting good health and reducing burnout. The nursing staff will be given the opportunity to
directly contact the advisors and approach them will stress related questions. This consultation
will have the direct benefit of assisting the nurses to identify and prevent their work-related
stress, assess their stress conditions, risk assessment, and understand the coping strategies.
Job stress most often creates hazardous impacts on the health of the nurses, besides
interfering with their capabilities to cope with the job demands (Faragher, Cass and Cooper
2013). Hence, the occupational health advisor will suggest different strategies that will help
nurses reduce their stress levels and burnout, thereby lessening the chances of medication errors

3SCOPING RESEARCH PROPOSAL
that occur thereafter. During the hour long session that nurses will be taught about various
relaxation techniques that they should adhere to, in order to remain at work, while reducing
stress levels. Sonnentag et al. (2016) took into consideration the fact that stress leads to a
disruption of sleep, among the affected people, consultation with a sleep specialist will also be
crucial. Sound sleep plays a crucial role in optimal health and wellbeing of individuals.
Difficulty in sleeping due to stress often reduces the overall health related quality of life.
Consultation with a psychologist will take place in the form of counseling session where
the nurses will be subjected to cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and acceptance and
commitment therapy (ACT) for relieving them of the stress symptoms that are a direct
manifestation of workload (Hayes et al. 2013). Physician support groups are responsible for
managing stress and averting burnout among professionals. During the program, physician will
create an environment that allows the nurses to share confidential information related to their
thoughts and concerns on clinical errors, effect of long working hours, and personal matter. The
physician will be responsible for fostering a trustworthy relationship with the nurses, thus
helping them cope with their stress.
A lifestyle consultant has the role of promoting drive and guidance to their clients for
enhancing their career, lives and relationship. The consultant will analyse the personal
environment and lifestyle of the nurses, assess their personal space, and formulate solutions
towards accomplishing different goals. Consultation with nursing supervisors will help in proper
assigning and scheduling of the nursing staff in an appropriate manner, in order to reduce their
work pressure and lessen working time to eight hours.