Wellness

[Abrowneyegirl]

• As the new coronavirus, now known as COVID-19, continues to spread, hundreds of healthcare workers are getting sick.
• China's National Health Commission announced Friday that 1,716 health workers had contracted the new virus. Six have died.
• One study found that nearly a third of the patients involved were healthcare workers.
• Healthcare workers on the front lines of the coronavirus outbreak are getting sick by the hundreds.

This is troubling, we have to keep our caregivers healthy!

I know my friends who work in hospitals who were all recently forced into the 12 shift scheduling all say they are "so run down".

 They say they do not get enough quality sleep and their health and the quality of their work is suffering.

It is hard to stay healthy when you are exhausted and stressed.

I can not imagine having to work at peak performance for a 12-hour shift. 

[RoughDraft]

At least 20 years ago, nurses were alerady working 12 hour shifts.  This is not new.

[hckynut]

@Abrowneyegirl 

I don't believe any statistics given by China. They knew about this virus long before they told the United States, this is my opinion. 

As for nurses working 12 hour shifts? Most of the nurses I met during my almost living in the hospital told me "they preferred" working 3 days a week, 12 hour days.  "Forced into working 12 hour shifts"?  I know many that work in hospitals that are not in the medical profession, most of them are at work for 9 hours, with 45 minutes or an hour for lunch.  

Glad I don't get overly concerned about these types of things. I believe many worry so much about "what might happen", the stress they are putting on themselves, is more likely to make them sick than working 12 hour shifts, and/or not being able to sleep. 

This too shall pass

hckynut

[JackieHN]

I am a retired Head Nurse who worked 12hr shifts in one of the busiest ER's in the country.for 30 years. Can't beat it. You get 4 days off a week. No way would I have ever gone back to 8 hr shifts and I think most nurses would agree. We fought very hard to get 12 hrs. Some nurses can't do it, agreed. But having 4 days off gives you a life. Now lot's of nurses work overtime or have second jobs. That's why they are probably tired.

As far as getting sick.it happens to all of us. We deal with the flu, and every other communicable disease. It's the nature of the job. 

[gardenman]

Most nurses I've talked with prefer twelve hour shifts. A typical workday for nurses starts with getting report, listing the patients they'll be caring for and their status. That can take a good chunk of time all by itself. Then they start the job of taking care of the patients and before they know it, it's time for them to give report to the incoming shift. Some who used to work eight hours say it seemed like they'd just finishing getting the report when it was time to give the report with not much time in between. 

[Abrowneyegirl]

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@RoughDraft wrote

At least 20 years ago, nurses were alerady working 12 hour shifts.  This is not new.

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I know or are related to at least a dozen retired nurses who say whether they worked 8 or 12 hour shifts back "in the day" they had no were near the patient beds to care for as they do today.

The nurse to patient ratio was much more manageable.

[Abrowneyegirl]

@hckynut 

Agree, I don't believe anything China says ever.

the notion only 1700 workers have gotten sick is surely not acuate.  Their figure alone can be MUCH higher considering the conditions.

I am much more inclined to believe the 1/3 of workers' are getting sick in the cumulative estimate. 

[sidsmom]

First off, the thread title should say CHINA HealthCare Workers,

not American,

are getting sick....as further detailed. 

'...so run down...'

That is speaking of American healthcare workers who are most likely 

'run downed' by the FLU, not the Coronavirus. 

'...exhausted & stressed...'

Again, most likely because of the FLU, not the Coronavirus.

Kinda odd to mix two different illnesses and two different countries 

in the same thread ..... doesn't make a lot of sense🤷‍♀️

[hckynut]

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@Abrowneyegirl wrote:

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I know or are related to at least a dozen retired nurses who say whether they worked 8 or 12 hour shifts back "in the day" they had no were near the patient beds to care for as they do today.

The nurse to patient ratio was much more manageable.

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@Abrowneyegirl 

I am sure you are right about the ratio you mentioned, and that can certainly be an issue depending on the specific needs of certain patients. Then there are patients that mistake "nurses" for "maids", I had many roommates that acted that way.

I worked a in a manufacturing plant for 33 years. Started my very 1st job there running 6 machines on that job. About 6 months later I was running 10 machines, same job and pay, just a different machine to operator ratio.

My 2nd job about 1 year later, at a higher pay grade, 1 machine per operator. In months that job required each operator to run 2 machines. This was back in the late 1950's and over the years of my employment, that was true of almost every job for hourly workers. When I retired 33 years later, the operator/machine ratio was a lot different. I'd be surprised if this wasn't/isn't true in almost any job today.

Most in management believe it is good business. If asking workers the same question, in my machine types of jobs? What usually resulted was quality control suffering because of having those higher machine to operator ratios. And management wondered why, but did/do they ask their employees?

hckynut

[chrystaltree]

You switched subjects in the middle of your post.  Yes, Healthcare workers in China at are serious risk from the COVID-19 because China is where that virus has it the hardest.  That means nothing for US Healthcare workers who have always worked 12 hour shifts when the need arises and it arise more often than people want to believe.  My husband is an RN, I have friends who are RN's, my brother is a respiratory therapist and my bff is a physician.  I've worked in Healthcare all my adult life.  Healthcare isn't like working in a factory, a hospital must be fully staffed so mandatory overtime is a necessity.  If a couple of people call in sick for a shift, then it's not at unusual for the someone on the previous shift to be required to put in an extra 4 hours.  Hence a 12 hour shift.  When there are blizzards and snow emergencies, some nurses and techs are required to sleep over just in case others can't make it in the next morning.  Yes, it's long hours in jobs that are always stressful.  Also, with all the hoops that insurers make hospitals jump through, many nurses have moved into administrative positions like utilization review, discharge planning, medical audits.  So there are fewer beside nurses.  The job gets done, patients get the care they need.