Nursing Safety and Confidentiality Dilemma in Healthcare

Running head: ASSESSMENT THREE 1
Assessment Three
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ASSESSMENT THREE 2
Module One
Nursing safety
Nurses are prone to illnesses and injuries that are due to work-related factors. Promoting
the safety and well-being of nurses, benefit both the caregivers and their clients. A well-rested
and a healthy caregiver ensure vigorous advocacy, vigilant monitoring, and adequate patient care
(Perry et al., 2017). The various stressors at the workstation such as long working hours and
unfavorable shifts can produce injuries and diseases for the nurses. Health organizations should
meet the psychological and physical demand of nurses to ensure adequate performance. External
factors such as the application of sophisticated technology at the health facilities threaten the
safety of nurses and patients. Therefore, the protection of nurses also improves the patient's
quality of life.
Long working hours and shift work are the main threat to caregivers’ safety. Unfavorable
shift work interferes with the social and family lives of the nurses (Costa, 2016). Additionally,
the shift can disturb an individual's ability to sleep by interrupting the circadian rhythms. The
inability of nurses to have enough sleep makes them experience sleepiness and fatigue during the
daytime. Therefore, the shift reduces the productivity of the caregivers; thus jeopardizing the
quality of service delivery towards the patient. Insufficient sleep can also trigger the emergence
of cardiovascular, psychological, and gastrointestinal symptoms.
Long hours at the hospital also decrease the time of sleep, resulting in a disturbed sleep or
sleep depreciation. A nurse that experiences a disturbed sleep can suffer from immune,
metabolic, and cardiovascular problems. The caregivers can also experience stress due to the
reduced family time (Hayes, Douglas, & Bonner, 2015). Furthermore, significant time spent at
the workstation increases the caregivers' exposure to hazards. Spending much time at the hospital

ASSESSMENT THREE 3
increases the encounter of caregivers with infectious agents such as chemicals. Nurses who work
for long hours have little or no time for meals or physical exercises. The stress of shift work can
make the caregivers to develop a habit of abusing drugs such as cigarette and alcohol.
Nurses that work during the night shifts experience excessive sleepiness and long-term
insomnia when posted on day shifts. Therefore, the change interferes with the ability of the
caregivers to attend to the patients effectively. The lack of sufficient sleep also reduces the
alertness of caregivers and can lead to medication errors (Wolf, Perhats, Delao, & Martinovich,
2017). The hospital administration should implement strategies to improve the safety of nurses at
the workplace. Healthy and safe nurses ensure quality medical attention towards the patients.
The initial strategy to ensure caregivers’ safety is to modify the shift work. Health
facilities should design new schedules that favor the well-being of nurses (Hyland, Lee, & Mills,
2015). Moreover, the Australian hospitals should introduce rest breaks to refresh the mental
capacity of nurses. The hospital administrators can also alter the circadian rhythm through blue
or bright lights. The health facility should also allow time for physical activities to benefit the
nurses. Health stakeholders counsel nurses who work for long hours on methods of stress
reduction. The intake of caffeine assists caregivers to stay awake for the extended duration of
time. Therefore, efficient strategies should correct the circadian cycle.
The work of caregivers is strenuous as it involves regular stretching to reach medical
equipment. The day-to-day activity overstretches the nurse and leads to musculoskeletal injuries
(Davis, & Kotowski, 2015). Efficient strategies help to cure the muscular diseases; thus ensuring
nurses' safety. The health facility should introduce body mechanic classes to assist nurses to cope
with their tedious activities. The equipment for medical attention should be within reach to
prevent muscular diseases. Hospitals should also employ individuals to bring the machine to