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Mandatory Overtime for Nurses
In the state of Washington, mandatory overtime for nurses is illegal, meaning that a nurse has the right to refuse overtime, and there will be no retaliation by the employer. Nurses in the state of Washington are allowed uninterrupted meals and rest breaks except for emergency situations and when the nurse's specific skills are required to complete a procedure. With the law in place, nurses are confident they can have enough breaks and rest without fearing they will be punished for taking the much-needed break. It is well known that medical errors increase when nurses work in shifts longer than 12 hours (Stimpfel et al., 2019). Therefore, being forced to work overtime increases the risk of nurses making numerous medical errors that could be disastrous to patients. States that have implemented the law on mandatory overtime for nurses have seen a boon in patient safety. Overtime by a nurse working in Washington state is strictly voluntary.
The best strategy to limit nurses who work overtime due to lucrative incentives would be putting a cap on the number of hours a nurse can work in a week. These hours should be inclusive of overtime hours worked. With a cap on the number of hours worked, nurses will be forced to take the necessary breaks even when offered lucrative incentives. The second option would be limiting the incentives healthcare facilities can provide to nurses who work overtime. When the reward is reduced, nurses will not have the desire to push themselves to work overtime.
In most cases, nurses will look at the benefit they receive for the overtime hours they work, and if the benefit is reduced or removed, most will not work overtime. There should be stiff punishment for medical errors due to nurse fatigue. Maybe this would assist in reducing the desire for nurses to work overtime.
References
Stimpfel, A. W., Fletcher, J., & Kovner, C. T. (2019). A comparison of scheduling, work hours, overtime, and work preferences across four cohorts of newly licensed registered nurses. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 75(9), 1902-1910. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.13972
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