EFFECTS OF TYPES OF NURSING SHIFTS

Effects of Rotating Shifts

According to (Lin, P., Chen, C., Pan, S., Chen, Y., Pan, C., Hung, H., & Wu, M. (2015)

p308) A rotating shift is defined as a work schedule that includes the day shift (from 8 a.m. to 4

p.m.), evening shift (from 4 p.m. to 12 midnight or from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m.) and night shift (from

12 midnight to 8 a.m.) in some kind of rotation. Rotating from night shifts to day shifts is a

common schedule in the nursing field. Nurses who worked rotating shifts apparently had

increased risk of over commitment and effort reward imbalances compared with those who

worked day/non-night shifts (Lin, P., Chen, C., Pan, S., Chen, Y., Pan, C., Hung, H., & Wu, M.

(2015) p311). The over commitment component is a coping mechanism that can have health

effects such as emotional exhaustion (Lin, P., Chen, C., Pan, S., Chen, Y., Pan, C., Hung, H., &

Wu, M. (2015) p312).

Rotating shifts have also been proven to have a serious effect on the health of the nurses

working them. “People follow a 24-hour period for their daily activities, called biological

rhythms. Biological rhythms are effective in controlling human behavior and performance, sleep-

wake control, digestion, secretion of adrenaline, body temperature, blood pressure, pulse and

other vital signs” (Majid, S., Masoudi, I., Moghadamnia, M., Sharif, M., & Barzegar, M. (2014)).

Rotating shifts can cause a disruption in biological rhythms because of the constant change in the

body. Over time these changes in the body can be linked to causing negative long term effects on

cardiac and pulmonary systems. Researchers found that women working rotating night shifts for

five or more years appeared to have an increase in cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality and

those working 15 or more years appeared to have an increase in lung cancer mortality

(Carpenter, 2015).
EFFECTS OF TYPES OF NURSING SHIFTS

Rotating shifts can be a difficult adjustment of sleep and wake schedules. “Concerning

chronic fatigue reported statistically significantly higher in the group of rotating shift workers

compared to other nurses” Ferri, P., Guadi, M., Marcheselli, L., Balduzzi, S., Magnani, D., & Di

Lorenzo, R. (2016). “Fatigue, poor sleep quality and dangerous drives home were found in

nurses who could not adapt to shift work. A descriptive study of 12 nurses in the USA who fell

asleep while driving home indicated that although they were scared, they could not address this

problem” (Vitale, S. A., Varrone-Ganesh, J., & Vu, M. (2015).

Rotating shifts can also negatively affect the nurse after her shift. The frequent changes in

schedule can ultimately affect the nurse’s home and family life. “A survey was conducted where

the common practice is shift rotation every 7 days. The nurses reported difficulties in: meeting

family responsibilities, attending social functions, getting sufficient sleep and a lack of family

cooperation” (Vitale, S. A., Varrone-Ganesh, J., & Vu, M. (2015) p 71). “For most nurses that

work on a rotating shift, they will have complications and undesirable effects on their normal

life, and many of them are not manageable” (Majid, S., Masoudi, I., Moghadamnia, M., Sharif,

M., & Barzegar, M. (2014)). According to (Ferri, P., Guadi, M., Marcheselli, L., Balduzzi, S.,

Magnani, D., & Di Lorenzo, R. (2016)) rotating shift nurses reported the lowest degree of job

satisfaction. All of these factors begin to distinctively affect the nurses working them. Chronic

fatigue, poor sleep quality, emotional exhaustion, low job satisfaction, and serious health related

issues can all eventually have a negative impact on the nurse’s health, quality of performance,

safety and patient care.

EFFECTS OF TYPES OF NURSING SHIFTS

Carpenter, H. (2015, Jan. & feb.). Preliminary data released from ANA’s HRA. Retrieved March

29, 2017, from http://eps.cc.ysu.edu:2063/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=e3b89358-6572-439d-

8d71-a296258a7fca%40sessionmgr4008&vid=0&hid=4107

Ferri, P., Guadi, M., Marcheselli, L., Balduzzi, S., Magnani, D., & Di Lorenzo, R. (2016,

September 14). The impact of shift work on the psychological and physical health of nurses in a

general hospital: a comparison between rotating night shifts and day shifts. Retrieved March 30,

2017, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5028173/pdf/rmhp-9-203.pdf

Lin, P., Chen, C., Pan, S., Chen, Y., Pan, C., Hung, H., & Wu, M. (2015, May 08). The

association between rotating shift work and increased occupational stress in nurses. Retrieved

March 30, 2017, from https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/joh/advpub/0/advpub_13-0284-

OA/_article

Majid, S., Masoudi, I., Moghadamnia, M., Sharif, M., & Barzegar, M. (2014). A Survey of

Physical, Psychological, and Social Health Indices in Shift Working Nurses. Retrieved March

29, 2017, from http://ijhr.iums.ac.ir/article_7655_84b89a61f45745e0af6a8ccd7dcb06af.pdf

Vitale, S. A., Varrone-Ganesh, J., & Vu, M. (2015, July 27). Nurses working the night shift:

Impact on home, family and social life. Retrieved March 30, 2017, from

http://www.sciedu.ca/journal/index.php/jnep/article/view/7294/4497