What role strain might affect the nurse's ability to provide effective patient care?

Long hours can significantly impact a nurse's ability to provide effective patient care. When nurses work extended shifts, they may experience fatigue, reduced concentration, and decreased emotional resilience. This can lead to mistakes in medication administration, lapses in critical thinking, and difficulties in maintaining the quality of patient interactions. Prolonged working hours can also diminish a nurse's capacity to engage fully with patients, undermining the establishment of therapeutic relationships and the overall effectiveness of care.

While maintaining relationships with family, interacting with difficult patients, and dealing with excessive paperwork certainly present their own challenges and can contribute to stress, the immediate impact of long hours on physical and mental stamina is often more acute. Nurses must manage their own well-being to ensure they can provide the highest standard of care to patients, making the risk of role strain from long hours particularly profound in the nursing profession.