Nurse Shortage in Nursing Homes and Mandatory Overtime for Nurses
This week, all the hard work you have done in researching your topic and issue will come to fruition in your argumentative paper. Once you feel you have got the final draft, try to put the paper aside, even for a few hours, and then read it again.
Did you address at least three aspects of the issue you chose?
Does each aspect have relevant and authoritative evidence in support of your point?
Have you included a view that is in opposition to your viewpoint, and have you answered that opposing view, pointing out its flaws in such a way as to refute it?
Edit your paper – look for wordiness, repetition, vagueness, ambiguities. Check the organization of the paper as a whole; make sure each paragraph maintains focus. After you are satisfied that the content of your paper is good, carefully proofread it and correct mechanical errors.
Here is a brief breakdown of the project so that you can plan your time in the course:
Week Task
Week 1 Topic Selection
Week 3 Issue Review (both sides)
Week 5 Thesis & Annotated Bibliography (both sides)
Week 7 Argumentative Paper
Instructions
This week, you will complete your argumentative paper. Following the directions in assigned textbook reading on how write an argumentative essay on the issue you chose in Week 1. Be sure your essay contains the following:
An opening paragraph that states a clear thesis that is focused, plausible, and arguable and that gives direction and purpose to the paper
A fair-minded, balanced, and objective development of the pros and cons of the issue in a well-organized sequence of ideas, free of mechanical errors
Credible, reliable, and authoritative evidence in support of the points made
A strong conclusion that summarizes your views, reminds the audience of the issue and its importance, and shows in brief that you have successfully defended your thesis
Note
As you do your research, it is permissible to change your sources. Also, because of the recency and relevance of these issues, no sources older than 5 years should be used other than as historical information. Critical thinkers do the research first and then side with the preponderance of evidence. You might want to follow that principle.
Writing Requirements (APA format)
Length: 4-6 pages (not including title page or references page)
1-inch margins
Double spaced
12-point Times New Roman font
Title page
References page
Nurse Shortage in Nursing Homes and Mandatory Overtime for Nurses
Student Name
University
Course
Professor Name
Date
Nurse Shortage in Nursing Homes and Mandatory Overtime for Nurses
One of the greatest challenges facing nursing homes today is the acute shortage of nurses. Recent estimates indicate that more than half of nursing homes may only sustain operations for a year based on their cost structures. Virtually all nursing homes experience challenges in hiring new nursing staff. Due to the working conditions that the current nurses face, many nursing homes also face high turnover rates. The result of these factors is a vicious cycle where challenges in hiring new nurses make working conditions difficult for current staff, making them want to leave, which creates even greater nursing shortages. Mandatory overtime entails forcing current nurses to work more hours to fill the gaps or make the workforce more productive. However, this move mostly worsens matters since excessive working hours cause burnout, high nurse turnover, and risks to patient health and safety. While mandatory overtime for nurses may help plug gaps caused by nursing shortages in the short term, the long-term implications are too detrimental to make mandatory overtime standard practice.
Dangers of Mandatory Overtime
One of the immediate detriments of mandatory overtime for nurses is compromised patient health and safety. Current literature finds a direct association between long working hours and diminished quality of care. According to Son et al. (2019), long working hours are detrimental to the health status of nurses, which reduces the quality of care and increases other work-related hazards. Patient accidents will occur, including medication errors, which could be fatal for patients or have the potential for chronic outcomes. For example, the wrong medication could end a patient's life or cause greater health complications. Such accidents often emanate from fatigue and burnout resulting from long working hours. The nurses may lose concentration due to lack of sleep and rest. They may encounter fall accidents and other health complications, including pressure ulcers. All these outcomes mean that a nurse will not be able to offer high-quality care or even ensure the patient's safety. Therefore, after the nurses, patients are often the first to experience the dangers of mandatory nurse overtime. Rest is important in any high-pressure working environment, allowing workers to achieve optimal quality and output.
Another detriment of mandatory overtime is occupational health risks with the potential for legal liability for nurses and organizations. The risks also emanate from long working hours that cause fatigue and burnout to nurses. Occupational fatigue is one of the main culprits for health risks for patients and nurses. Research indicates that chronic fatigue among nurses could last up to six months and cannot be alleviated through rest. Chronic fatigue results include post-exertion malaise, cognitive impairment, unrefreshing sleep, muscle or joint pain, autonomic dysfunction, and poor health-related outcomes such as poor quality of life, multiple sclerosis, cancer, and stroke (Lim et al., 2020). Requiring nurses to continue working under these conditions will only make their life worse health-wise. Even when the issue is simply burnout and fatigue, the quality of life of the nurses of drastically reduced. The problem is compounded by the fact that these conditions make nurses prone to workplace mistakes, which pose safety risks to themselves and their patients. Nurses can face criminal liability for causing harm to their patients (Zabuha et al., 2019). Besides risks to their health, nurses also face criminal charges, jail time, fines, loss of licenses, and other penaltie...