The Consequences Of Shift Work On Nurses ' Mental Health/Stress Assignment

1. Introduction

"Shift work" is a crucial part of the healthcare sector to provide patients round-the clocks patients care and medical services. Nurses are the "front-line" medical personnel who are giving efforts to provide patients with high-quality treatment to ensure their fast recovery. Nurses need to maintain a particular schedule of working time which may vary and they are bound to work on Sundays and holidays. The shifts may rotate and it includes day, evening. and night shifts which negatively impacted the psychological and physical wellness of the nurses. The cardiac cycle of nurses is majorly impacted due to the reduced sleep by their rotational schedule. Irregularities in cardiac cycles and work-related stress are the reasons for developing "Burnout Syndrome" among nurses. They often feel stressed and disappointed due to their hectic schedule and constant pressure in their job. Sleeping disruption is a major effect of the rotational shift which causes lethargy and disturbs their entire health functionalities (Brown et al, 2020).

The research mainly focuses to investigate how shift work impacted the physical and mental well-being of nurses. Continuous lack of sleep and inconsistent work schedule caused reduced mental abilities, and emotional control which decreases the efficiency in the work The cardiac cycle of the body is affected which is the reason for major health issues among nurses (Rosa et al. 2019). The physical and mental health of the nurses impacted the security of the patients and standard of the medical care. This study The research focuses on the previous research to understand the difficulties the nurses confronted as a result of rotating shifts. Additionally, the study emphasises viable solutions to reduce the negative consequences and foster a healthy workplace. It is necessary to address the problems. healthcare organisations focused on enhanced practices and encouraging regulations for protecting the entire wellness of nursing professional

2. Research Aim

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of rotating shifts on nurses' which impacted their physical and mental well-being, as well as the connection between erratic 53 work schedules and their entire well-being. The study aims to identify the particular challenges that nurses face primarily as a consequence of rotating shifts and to provide alternative solutions to enhance their overall health conditions to increase the efficiency of their healthcare services.

3. Research Question

What are the consequences of shifting duties among nurses on general wellness and mental health conditions?

4. Methodology

Research Philosophy

Research philosophy aids researchers in developing epistemological" and "ontological viewpoints which shape their reality knowledge. In this study, the "interpretivism research philosophy has been utilised to conduct the research effectively. The researchers use interpretivism to understand the intricate nature and significance of individual experiences, behaviors, and relationships. "Interpretivism" is useful for this research to comprehend the way nurses faced difficulties due to their hectic rotating schedules and how it impacted their social, physical, and psychological well-being-(Dudovskiy, 2019).- Different instances based on several contexts of the psychological state and stress of nurses were collected through qualitative methodologies.

Research approach

In this research "The deductive research approach" has been used throughout the research. Multiple data have been gathered and analysed to verify the theory, offering information that supports or contradicts the hypothesis. A deductive approach is an organise approach that allows the researcher to investigate the research questions through several relevant theoretical approaches and accumulate real-world evidence to evaluate these (Dudovskiy, 2019). The study follows deductive research approaches to assess the prior theories and develop new findings regarding the impact of rotational shifts on the psychological health of nursing professionals

Research Strategy

Research strategy indicates the entire planning that researchers follow to perform their research and reach the objectives of the research. This research has been conducted by using secondary data from several "academic articles", "journals" and other secondary data resources and collected qualitative data by analysing several case studies to accomplish the study. These data help to understand the consequences of the rotational shifts on the mental wellness of the nurses and effective strategies to reduce the impact of their stress levels to increase efficiency in their work.

Research design

"Qualitative research design" has been utilised in this case to understand the adverse effects of inconsistent shifting schedules among nurses and how it impacted their mental health and the performances of their work (DJS Research, 2020). The researcher analyses the data from several "academic articles" and "journals" through qualitative methods. The research can analyse data from several instances of working schedules and how they impacted the psychological well-being of nurses. Additionally, it helps to understand the remedial actions to reduce the detrimental effects of irregular shifting hours among nursing individual

Data collection

In this research, secondary data has been collected through qualitative data collection methodologies. The researcher has collected data from previously published articles and journals where other researchers already conducted their research based on several case studies to understand the consequences of mental stress and burnout syndrome among nurses due to their hectic shifting schedules (Tate & Happ, 2019). Multiple case studies represented understanding the experiences of nurses and the way their well-being impacted healthcare services. Additionally, these data suggested several recommendations to reduce the impact to improve their wellness and enhance their productivity at work.

Sampling techniques

In this research "Simple random non-probability sampling technique" has been utilised in this case to select samples inconsistently from a variety of samples. According to this study, the researcher utilised a particular sampling technique to collect secondary data from a wide range of sources including "academic journals", "articles", "and reports" that exhibit the way rotational shift affected the stress level of nurses which reduces their productivity in the healthcare services. Researchers need to select random relevant articles or pre-researched journals for collecting data. The researcher needs to prioritise all the relevant articles at the time of data collection. It is essential to collect data from authentic resources from "Google Scholar" to ensure the reliability of the information. The articles need to be equally prioritised and have similar possibilities to include in the samples.

Research Ethics

Research ethics focuses on the protection and privacy of data which has been utilised throughout the research. It is important to verify the resources of the articles, journals, and a reports before utilising using data for the study (Ruggiano & Perry, 2019). It is essential to verify cach data source and author's name before conducting the study. The researcher focuses on the well-being of the nurses and maintains the ethical standards of the secondary research. Before starting the study, it is essential to take permission from research ethics Link associations.

Limitation

Due to using secondary qualitative data, the researcher has limitations in the data collection procedures. The insufficiency of data sources resulted in limited information in the context of the research. There is a lack of statistical data which provides less accuracy in the results of the research. The results have been interpreted by analysing and assessing some specific sources of qualitative data which have been published priorly by several researchers. The application of mitigating strategies and the effectiveness of those strategies are not illustrated properly which is a limitation of the research.

5. Results

Nursing professionals with rotational shifts experienced anxiety scores, trouble sleeping, and burnout. The rotational working schedule includes day, evening, and night shifts and it varies as per the requirements. Sometimes, a nurse need to work double shifts due to staff shortage or absence of any staff (Sunde et al. 2022). These inconsistent working hours resulted in disturbed cardiac rhythms and impacted their well-being immensely. Results from secondary data sources exhibited a connection between prolonged disrupted sleep. decrease cognitive abilities psychological wellness, and professional efficiency caused by the rotational shifting schedule among nurses (d'Ettorre et al. 2020). Furthermore, the research emphasised some professional aspects that increase the detrimental effects of shifting schedules among nurses including less efficiency in the healthcare support, lack of care for patients, and aggressive nature towards patients. The connection between the "shifting works" and psychological health affects the well-being of nurses and decreases the productivity of the entire healthcare service.

The major consequence of the rotational shift is sleep disruption which increases stress levels and anxiety among nurses. The sleeping cycle of nurses is negatively impacted by their inconsistent working hours which prevent them from taking adequate rest. Long-term insufficient sleeping cycles reduce their thinking abilities and decrease psychological balances which diminishes the productivity in healthcare services for the patients. Healthcare organisations must give attention and need to take actions that help to improve the psychological health of nurses for reducing adverse consequences. It is essential to improve the shifting processes to ensure adequate sleeping time and organise psychological wellness programs for nurses to enhance their entire well-being. "Coping strategies" are an effective way to support nurses to overcome these difficulties and recover their entire health conditions (Savic et al. 2019).

Appropriate coping strategies including physical exercise, meditation. "self-care" and comfortable shifting hours to balance their sleep are the support system for nurses to overcome the detrimental effects of their health which decreases their productivity in healthcare performances. It is essential to address the difficulties and take immediate steps to support nurses in enhancing their efficiencies in healthcare services by improving their entire mental and physiological health conditions.

6. Discussion

The effect of rotating shifts on the psychological health of nurses

Irregular shifting hours interrupt the sleeping cycle of nurses which prevents them from taking sufficient sleep. Persistent fatigues and insomnia occur due to inconsistent sleeping cycles for rotational shifts. These negatively impacted the entire well-being of nurses and affected brain functionalities and the psychological wellness among nursing professionals. Nursing professionals frequently experience higher levels of stress due to their erratic schedules of shifting duties. They faced constant pressure to provide patients with top- notch healthcare facilities and deal with critical patients This perpetual stress leads to burnout syndrome and uncontrolled mental emotion levels (Bagheri Hosseinabadi et al. 2019), The family and personal life of nurses hampered due to their irregular working hours which increases their mood swings and reduced efficiency in the work. Additionally, irregular cardigan rhythms increase the chances of cardiovascular disease in the future.

The graph exhibits the sleeping habits of the rotational shift employees and the way it varies. The two arrows display the "alerting signals of the day" and "alerting signals" of the night respectively. These alerting signals determine the awake time of individuals. The disruption of the sleeping cycle in the night shift workers impacted mental stress due to the interruption of the bodies normal sleeping cycle.

This graph effectively illustrates the varying degrees of tolerance of working stresses among nurses due to the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak. The graph exhibits that in earlier August, September, and October the healthcare professionals deal with the extra pressure and inconsistent working schedules. Although, the degree of stress has been increased significantly in November, December, Feb/March which indicates that they faced extreme difficulties due to their overloaded work pressures. It indicates that they need prevalent support to cope with the overloaded work pressure during the time of the pandemic. Consequences in healthcare services The rotational shifting schedule of nurses decreases their cognitive functions as a result of their irregular sleeping cycles (Bagheri Hosseinabadi et al. 2019). As a result, there is a chance of healthcare mistakes which reduces the security of the patients. Nurses who faced overloaded pressure and mental stress, it is difficult for them to take important steps to handle critical situations. They became less attentive to the crucial information about patient care which caused the reduced quality of healthcare services (Choi & Kim, 2021). Coping strategies for the nurses "Copying strategies" are crucial for assisting nurses to manage the difficulties they faced due to the shifting duties which affected their mental wellness. According to Savic et al. (2019), copying strategies include "self-care", "social assistance and physical activity which are effective remedies to overcome the adverse effects of rotational shifts among nurses. It is essential to foster self-care" among nurses and encourage them for physical exercises and meditation to reduce their stress levels. This strategy helps them to focus on their work dedicatedly Additionally, practicing these improves their physical and mental well-being and increases their cognitive abilities which are crucial for their efficiency in their work. Furthermore, spending time with families and friends is another effective way to release the stress level of nurses (James et al 2020). It is important to train nurses in a way to manage their hectic working schedules and balance their life. It is the responsibility of "Healthcare organisations to provide flexible shifting hours for nurses and offers them adequate resting times, and breaks to promote a favorable working atmosphere for their well- heine and nuductivus of the work

7. Conclusion

The study emphasises the adverse effects of rotational shifts on the psychological health of the nurses. Being a frontline workers, nurses faced overloaded pressures, handling emergencies and making effective decisions for critical patient care. The irregular shifting hours and lack of sleep decrease their cognitive abilities and imbalance their emotional levels which reduces the efficiency in their work. The study focuses on the implementation of effective strategies such as "coping strategies" to mitigate the detrimental impact of rotational shifts on nursing professionals. It is essential to provide them with flexible schedules and give importance to their psychological health conditions to enhance the quality of healthcare services for treating patients.

Are you struggling to keep up with the demands of your academic journey? Don't worry, we've got your back! Exam Question Bank is your trusted partner in achieving academic excellence for all kind of technical and non-technical subjects.

Our comprehensive range of academic services is designed to cater to students at every level. Whether you're a high school student, a college undergraduate, or pursuing advanced studies, we have the expertise and resources to support you.

To connect with expert and ask your query click here Exam Question Bank