The article provided by Landis et al. (2021) discusses nurses’ experiences taking breaks on the night shift. I think that this article is useful because it raises an accurate topic for the professional nursing field and puts emphasis on the nurses’ health conditions. Deliberate use of relaxing work breaks, naps, and caffeine consumption are all possible fatigue reduction measures for night shift employees. Nurses, on the other hand, have regularly reported missing break opportunities, and the reasons for these missed breaks are unknown. The goal of the study by Landis et al. (2021) was to describe and understand the lived experience of night shift nurses taking breaks in hospitals, as well as the implications of this phenomenon in the workplace.
Nurses who work shifts, particularly night shifts, are at risk of developing health problems as a result of their work. Even though this is a known concern, nightshift nurses do not always take restful or restorative breaks while on the job. The themes explored in the study conducted by Landis et al. (2021) are connected to the break practices of night shift registered nurses. Landis et al. (2021) have discovered that the primary objective of breaks was to eat and that breaks were significantly reliant on the nurses’ patient-care obligations. Occupational health nurses can help night shift nurses by advocating for the creation of mechanisms that encourage consistent breaks and physical locations where they can take restorative breaks away from the unit. Occupational health nurses should also think about how to reduce the health hazards for nurses who miss breaks to care for patients.
Shift workers are particularly vulnerable to circadian misalignment, with night shift employees being the most vulnerable. Shift workers’ health effects are various, including an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity, and psychological disorders (Landis et al., 2021). Sleep deprivation, exhaustion, dysphoric mood, accidental injury, and mortality are some of the physiological repercussions of night shift work (Landis et al., 2021). Such risks have been well-documented in the literature, and they can have a direct influence on patient care results as well as the well-being of nurses.
Employers have introduced recommended practices for restricted rest intervals for all health care workers as a result of these long shifts. A break was defined as a 30-minute lunch/dinner break during an 8-hour shift for the purposes of the study (Landis et al., 2021). Breaks in the acute care or hospital workplace vary in length and are enforced inconsistently across countries and care settings. Rest breaks are currently not covered by any federal regulations, are dependent on specific state labor laws, and are only mandated in fewer than half of the states in the United States (Landis et al., 2021). The data’s primary themes show that night shift nurses do not take advantage of their breaks to the fullest extent possible in order to restore or improve their health (Landis et al., 2021). Nurses use their breaks to address their fundamental requirements while being available to their coworkers and patients throughout the shift.
Taking a break should be used for eating and mingling rather than sleeping or relaxing. When there is sufficient relief staff and decreased patient acuity, a break away from the unit is considered a luxury. None of the participants had ever used or considered napping as a technique to deal with exhaustion. These findings are consistent with recent research that show napping is not a widespread behavior among nurses during their allowed break time at work. In contrast, a Brazilian study found that 94 percent of nurses asked said they were allowed to sleep or rest during their shift, and the average length of a break/nap during a 24-hour shift was 2-hour (Landis et al., 2021). The next step should be to see if organizational initiatives may change cultural views or unit culture regarding rest breaks.
I see the information provided in the article as highly relevant and important. This particular study might help nurses to improve patient outcomes because the study makes them aware of the fact that lack of balanced break time leads to lower performance. For example, it may result in different risks for the patients, such as medication errors (Landis et al., 2021). Thus, nurses will put more emphasis on taking regular breaks in order to achieve better performance during the night shifts.
One of the barriers to using qualitative research in order to make conclusions regarding nursing practice is that such an approach might have limitations in terms of analyzing the practice of a wide range of nurses. In this particular study, those interviewed were working at the same hospital and followed the same policies. As a result, the findings may not reflect nurses in other hospitals with varying rules. The study was also limited by the fact that it was funded by the hospital. Participants may have felt hesitant to speak honestly about their break routines as a result of this.
Because of irregular breaks during night shifts, nurses not only threaten their productivity and efficiency during the work with patients but at the same time put their health at risk. Sometimes I forget about taking breaks during the nightshifts as well, which then gives me adverse consequences. After reading the article provided by Landis et al. (2021), I have reconsidered my attitude towards the role of regular breaks in a nurse’s work. In addition, I agree with the statement that in order to encourage nurses to participate in restorative breaks, a shift in the nursing workplace culture about breaks is required.
Reference
Landis, T. T., Wilson, M., Bigand, T., & Cason, M. (2021). Registered Nurses’ Experiences Taking Breaks on Night Shift: A Qualitative Analysis. Workplace Health & Safety, 69(6), 252-256. Web.