Masters Theses

Date of Award

5-1991

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major Professor

Mary Lue Jolly

Committee Members

Sandra Thomas, Thomas McKay

Abstract

The nursing shortage has brought about many changes in hospital staffing patterns. Nurses are demanding new and more flexible scheduling patterns. Twelve hour shifts have been seen as one option to provide nurses with a shorter work week. The purpose of this descriptive study was to examine the effects of twelve hour shifts on critical care registered nurses' decision making ability and eye-hand coordination. The Neuman Systems Model was used as a framework for this study. The setting was a 500 bed community, not-for-profit hospital in the southeast.

This study identified changes in decision making ability and eye-hand coordination over time. Nurses were assessed at the beginning of their first twelve hour shift, at the end of this shift, and the end of their third consecutive twelve hour shift. The day shift showed improvement in performance over time in both areas. The night shift demonstrated an improvement in performance at the end of the first twelve hour shift but then demonstrated a significant iv decrease in performance by the end of the third twelve hour shift. Implications for the nursing administrator based on the results of this study are discussed. Recommendations for further research are specified.

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