I read somewhere the other day that there are hospitals requiring mandatory overtime. Most shifts for nurses are 12 hours already. I understand that there is a shortage of nurses right now, but doesn't that become dangerous? You can push yourself to work for quite awhile, but there comes a point where, even though you can continue to walk and talk, you WILL start to make mistakes. That's just a fact of life. Nurses may not be in the operating room or anything like that, but there are things that they could do that could harm the patient or even kill them. Mixing up medications, giving the wrong dose, even giving something to a patient that is allergic to it. When we are given a responsibility that could mean life or death, that should put our work load in our own hands. If after completing my 12 hour shift I find that I'm way too tired to keep going, does it really make sense to, instead of giving me an option to stay, to just make it mandatory? Any thoughts on this?
~THE Future Nurse Chelsey
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