Nurse is a challenging profession and it’s not for the weak. It requires great physical and mental strength. Providing care for patients may sound easy but it’s not in reality. Nurses have to monitor patients from their first admission until they are ready to return to their own. Not to mention that nurses also provide care for the families of the patient more often than not. Therefore, nurses play vital role in all health care environments. However, most nurses view their job as rewarding somehow because being able to provide care and give support not only physically but emotionally as well earn personal satisfaction and happiness.
What are the biggest challenges faced by nurses?
It is clear that nurses today are not doctor’s ‘handmaidens’. their duties and responsibilities are in wide range. Their skills are not only physical. They should have critical thinking and emotional intelligence in order to fulfill their responsibilities. Meanwhile, there are also main challenges face by nurses today, such as:
Long working hour is not uncommon in medical environments. And for nurses, they are required to work in extended hours most of the times even though they work by shifts. Overtime working and the abundance of fatigue are daily suffer for nurses. It might look usual but excessive fatigue can lead to medical errors and unable to participate in an event at http://220.127.116.11. Nurse fatigue has been one of the most talked issues. Working for more than 12 hours a day is truly draining physically and mentally for nurses.
Staffing shortage is also one of the main problems nurses face today. With the short staffing, nurses are required to work overtime. They stay late and work extra times with little to no sleep at all. Nurse is a high in demand occupation. Nurses are caregivers who provide care for patients thoroughly while they keep monitoring to their best interest. Lots of nurses are concerned because they think they don’t have enough time to provide proper care for patients and families. It is not easy to hire professional and reliable nurses as well so the issue of staffing shortage has become more serious in various health care environments.
Hazards in the workplace are also one of the most challenges faced by nurses on daily basis. There are various hazards in health care environments such as injuries, blood borne pathogens, cold and flu germs, hand-washing dermatitis, and more. Needle stick injuries are also one of the most common hazards experienced by nurses. Creating safe place for nurses to work without being exposed to hazards is challenging as it is.
Violence and Harassment
Violence and harassment in workplace are also main issues faced by nurses. There have been many nurses experience incident related to violence such as kicking, hitting, and beating. Being harassed by patients is also serious issue faced by nurses almost on daily basis. There have been reports of patient stalking, inappropriate social media contact, or physically assaulted at work. However, there have also been awareness initiatives taken to end this issue to make nurses feel safer.