When I was in the hospital I was amazed at how many different nurses and aides took care of me. There was a dry erase board on the wall opposite the foot of the bed and as each shift changed they would write their name so I could read it. That was very helpful. What was really surprising was that the staff in the middle of the night was just as bright and cheery as the morning or afternoon staff. Communicating between nurses, between shifts, between floors, and between patient and the rest of the world was a challenge but they did a good job.
Some times a nurse would disappear for a day or two, then reappear as if by magic but it was really just the result of a clever administrator arranging work times and days off. I suppose there is some computer program that shuffles nurses and deals them out where they are needed. Other than having to reset the alarm clock or reprogram the DVR they seemed to transition from days to nights and back without missing a beat.
But the March 2015 edition (yes, it runs on a fast time clock) of American Journal of Preventive Medicine reports the results of a 22 year long study of nurses' health and habits. Nurses who rotated night and day shifts for more than five years had an 11 percent higher risk of death from all types of causes. Nurses who kept that up for 6-14 years were 19 percent more likely to die from Cardio-vascular disease and if they continued that routine for 15 or more years they were 23 percent more likely to die from CVD causes and 25 percent more likely to die of lung cancer.
Similar studies with people like police officers showed the same risk to health due to rotating night shift work routines.
I wonder what it is that creates the problem. Is it the constant readjusting to a new sleep pattern? Is it stress related? Does working rotating hours create unhealthy habits like eating wrong foods or taking sleep medications to be able to drift off? And who would have guessed the lung cancer connection? Does day sleeping somehow facilitate smoking which increases the risk of lung cancer?
Finally, the study does not say that working a permanent night schedule, instead of rotating between night and day, is any better for the nurse. But if it is, then that's the solution. But I wonder if there are enough nurses willing to work overnight permanently? Either system, nights only or nights rotated with days, should be pay a premium for altering the natural course of life and keeping the nurses in an unhealthy situation.
Archive timeline: 2014: May and June - preparing for surgery, July - surgery and post op problems,
August - recovery and physical therapy, September - thinking medically, October - getting back to normal. November. -still in recovery, December-6 months and holding.
Some times a nurse would disappear for a day or two, then reappear as if by magic but it was really just the result of a clever administrator arranging work times and days off. I suppose there is some computer program that shuffles nurses and deals them out where they are needed. Other than having to reset the alarm clock or reprogram the DVR they seemed to transition from days to nights and back without missing a beat.
But the March 2015 edition (yes, it runs on a fast time clock) of American Journal of Preventive Medicine reports the results of a 22 year long study of nurses' health and habits. Nurses who rotated night and day shifts for more than five years had an 11 percent higher risk of death from all types of causes. Nurses who kept that up for 6-14 years were 19 percent more likely to die from Cardio-vascular disease and if they continued that routine for 15 or more years they were 23 percent more likely to die from CVD causes and 25 percent more likely to die of lung cancer.
Similar studies with people like police officers showed the same risk to health due to rotating night shift work routines.
I wonder what it is that creates the problem. Is it the constant readjusting to a new sleep pattern? Is it stress related? Does working rotating hours create unhealthy habits like eating wrong foods or taking sleep medications to be able to drift off? And who would have guessed the lung cancer connection? Does day sleeping somehow facilitate smoking which increases the risk of lung cancer?
Finally, the study does not say that working a permanent night schedule, instead of rotating between night and day, is any better for the nurse. But if it is, then that's the solution. But I wonder if there are enough nurses willing to work overnight permanently? Either system, nights only or nights rotated with days, should be pay a premium for altering the natural course of life and keeping the nurses in an unhealthy situation.
Archive timeline: 2014: May and June - preparing for surgery, July - surgery and post op problems,
August - recovery and physical therapy, September - thinking medically, October - getting back to normal. November. -still in recovery, December-6 months and holding.
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