The Challenges Nurses Face Regarding Professional and Personal Responsibilities

By: Latasha Friendly and Leah Roos



Nurses not only have to keep up with the growing demands of quality patient care, but they also are required to remain current with the ever changing standards of practice, policy and procedures, research, and continuing education. In addition to these professional responsibilities, nurses must manage their personal responsibilities such as balancing professional careers with family needs, managing stress, and maintaining personal health.
One of the main and most important professional responsibilities of nurses is to keep up with ever changing standards of practice. Due to the fact healthcare is always evolving nurses must continually seek further education, not only in their field but other specialty areas as well. The internet provides a range of information such as tutorials, books, classes, and scholarly journals. Examples can be found at www.nurseeducation.com, www.nurse.com/ce, and www.jcenonline.com.
Most hospitals have policy and procedures that require mandatory overtime. According to the American Nurses Association (ANA) this is a difficult problem for registered nurses and healthcare facilities. There is a concern for errors being made due to fatigue and the impact on the caregiver’s health. The risks are increased when nurses work more than twelve hour shifts or more than 40 hours per week. “The safe nursing and patient care act of 2007 amends title xviii of the Social Security Act to provide for patient protection by limiting the number of mandatory overtime hours a nurse may be required to work” (www.anaworkplaceadvocacy.com) . A 1992 study in the American Journal of Public Health reported that nurses who worked variable schedules (including mandatory overtime) were twice as likely to report errors or accidents related to sleepiness. Also included in these policies are mandatory in-services that hospitals require nurses to attend quarterly regarding evidence based standards of practice. This can be anything from administering insulin to the use of IV pumps. These in-services do allow nurses to say current, but they are done on their own time, which can be an inconvenience.
The personal responsibilities nurses face are balancing education and careers with family needs. A survey of 1,906 registered nurses published in the September issue of Research in Nursing and Health suggested that work-life conflict is common among nurses, and half of these nurses reported that work interfered with their family life at least one day a week. In contrast to this finding, only 11 percent of these nurses reported that family interfered with work this often. “Work family conflict has been associated with lower job satisfaction, fatigue, burnout, emotional distress or depressive symptoms”. According to the American Psychological Association employee stress and burnout can also lead to stress-related physical illnesses such as heart disease, migraines, hypertension, irritable bowel syndrome, muscle, back and joint pain, duodenal ulcers, and mental health problems such as anxiety, depression, insomnia, and feelings of inadequacy all of which can directly contribute to absenteeism and decreased work performance. The bottom line for nursing administrators is that employee stress and burnout causes significantly increased financial expenditures for health groups at approximately $250 to $300 billion annually.
Nurses can prevent burnout and find a balance between professional and personal responsibilities by maintaining a constructive work environment and good self care. At work, the nurse can avoid any forms of unprofessional behavior that can perpetuate negative responses from peers (i.e. gossiping, forming cliques, showing favoritism), they can participate in feed-back groups offered by the organization, set boundaries and limits for work availability and picking up for others lack of competency, and take at least 30 minutes during the lunch/break hour to leave the floor and have some time to yourself out of the work environment. Outside of work, the nurse can make sure not to take their work home with them, set aside specific time for their family, set aside specific time for themselves, and make sure to find ways to still do the hobbies/activities they have always enjoyed. These interventions will help the nurse maintain a successful career life while still having the health and energy to enjoy their personal life. Nurses who feel they have a fulfilled and happy personal life are more apt to take pride and enjoy their work. In the end this means their patients will be receiving the best care possible.

Below is a link for a Youtube video on nursing and burnout:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdKEds5f1mM


Below is a link for a Youtube video on mandatory overtime and the dangers associated with it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBKTxZc3A3A

References:
1. www.protectpatientcare.org
2. www.medscape.com
3. www.nursingworld.org
4. www.jcenonline.com
5. www.swedishorg/130120.cfm