Rituals, ghosts and glorified babysitters: A narrative analysis of stories nurses shared about working the night shift

McAllister, Margaret; Ryan, Colleen; Simes, Tracey; Bond, Sue; Ford, Abigail; Brien, Donna Lee

doi:10.1111/nin.12372

Cited by 5 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 19 publications

(29 reference statements)

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“…A total of 33 studies (34 reports, as one study was reported across two articles) were reviewed for methodological quality and were of moderate to high quality: Four articles38-41 met all 10 of the critical appraisal criteria, six articles42-47 met nine of the criteria, nine articles48-56 met eight of the criteria, 13 articles57-68,70 met seven of the criteria, one article71 met six of the criteria, and one article69 met five of the criteria. All studies rated positively for questions related to congruity between research methodology and research question (Q2), research methodology and methods (Q3), research methodology and representation of the analysis of data (Q4), and voices represented (Q8).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experiences and perceptions of nurses working night shift: a qualitative systematic review

Weaver¹,

Cordova²,

Vitale³

et al. 2022

JBI Evidence Synthesis

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The objective of this review was to examine the available evidence on the experiences and perceptions of nurses working the night shift within any specialty in the acute care, subacute, or long-term care setting. Introduction:Nurses are required for around-the-clock patient care. Night shift nurses can experience detrimental effects because of their work hours, which disrupt their normal circadian rhythm. Understanding nurses' experiences and perceptions when working night shift will facilitate the development of strategies to minimize the potential negative effects of working at night. In examining nurses' experiences and perceptions of working night shift, there is scope to explore how to improve night shift nurses' practice environment and job satisfaction, which will then translate to improved nurse and patient outcomes.Inclusion criteria: This review included qualitative studies focused on the experiences and perceptions of registered nurses and licensed practical nurses who work the night shift or rotate between day and night shift. Methods: This review followed the JBI methodology for systematic reviews of qualitative evidence. The methodology used was consistent with the a priori protocol. Studies included in this review were those published in full text, English, and between 1983 (when the seminal work on hospitals that attract and retain nurses was published) and February 2021, when the search was completed. The main databases searched for published and unpublished studies included MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, PsycINFO, and Web of Science. From the search, two reviewers independently screened the studies against the inclusion criteria, and then papers selected for inclusion were assessed for methodological quality. Qualitative data were extracted from the included papers independently by the four reviewers. Results from each reviewer were discussed and clarified to reach agreement. The extracted findings were pooled and examined for shared meaning, coded, and grouped into categories. Common categories were grouped into meta-synthesis to produce a comprehensive set of synthesized findings. The final synthesized findings were graded using the ConQual approach to determine the level of confidence (trust) users may have in the value of the synthesized findings.Results: Thirty-four papers, representing 33 studies, met the criteria for inclusion. The studies were conducted in 11 countries across six continents, with a total of 601 participants. From these, a total of 220 findings were extracted and combined to form 11 categories based on similarity in meaning, and three syntheses were derived: i) The "Other" Shift: the distinctiveness of night nursing; ii) Juggling sleep and all aspects of life when working nights; and iii) Existing in the Twilight Zone: battling the negative impact of sleep deprivation consumes nurses who strive to keep patients, self, and others safe. Conclusions:The major conclusions from this review are the uniqueness of working the night shift and the sleep deprivation of night nurses. Organ...

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experiences and perceptions of nurses working night shift: a qualitative systematic review

Weaver¹,

Cordova²,

Vitale³

et al. 2022

JBI Evidence Synthesis

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…There is evidence that younger and less experienced MHN are not as resilient as more experienced nurses (Delgado et al, 2020; Foster et al, 2020; Zheng et al, 2017) and less experienced MHN would gain from specific support for their resilience and practice. Given the benefits of storytelling in helping others to develop their own strengths (McAllister et al, 2020), we recommend narrative techniques are used to support both novice and experienced MHNs to reflect on their practice. Narrative‐informed clinical supervision is also recommended, where narratives of practice situations are co‐created and explored between supervisee and supervisor for the purpose of building self‐awareness and improving practice (Stevenson, 2005).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The aim of this study was to explore mental health nurses' stories of resilience in their practice. Nursing is a storied profession and stories can be a powerful tool for sharing experience, connecting nurses, building empathy and a sense of community, and motivating others to action and change (McAllister et al, 2020). As stories are central to human meaning-making, they are important for understanding human experience, and research itself can be seen as a storytelling act (Lewis, 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Grace under pressure: Mental health nurses' stories of resilience in practice

Foster

Evans

Alexander

2023

Int J Mental Health Nurs

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Mental health nurses experience both organizational and practice‐related stressors in their work. Resilience is an interactive process of positive adaptation following stress and adversity. There is limited evidence on how personal resilience is applied to mental health nursing practice. The aim of this interpretive narrative study was to explore mental health nurses' stories of resilience in their practice for the purpose of gaining an understanding of resilience resources they draw on when dealing with challenging workplace situations. A storytelling approach was used in semistructured phone interviews with 12 mental health nurses who measured high on resilience (Workplace Resilience Inventory) and caring behaviours (Caring Behaviours Inventory). Within and across case narrative analysis produced stories of resilient practice within four themes: proactively managing the professional self; sustaining oneself through supportive relationships; engaging actively in practice, learning and self‐care; and seeking positive solutions and outcomes. Nurses displayed poise in stressful situations and grace under pressure in demanding and emotionally challenging interactions, holding dignity and respect for self and others, with the aim of achieving positive outcomes for both. Resilient practice is the responsibility of organizations as well as individuals. To develop practice and support staff retention, we recommend organizations use tailored professional development to cultivate a growth mindset in new and experienced staff, develop organizational strategies to build positive team cultures, and prioritize strategies to reduce workplace stressors and strengthen staff psychological safety and well‐being. The use of narrative techniques in reflective practice and clinical supervision may help build nurses' resilience and practice.

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“…Few reported a second job at baseline, and we do not consider it an important source of bias. Night work is associated, among others, with lower staffing 36 and more injuries, 37 and it cannot be ruled out that such factors may influence the relationship between night work and sleep medication use. Due to lack of information of these factors, we were however not able to adjust for these in the analyses.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A shift to something better? A longitudinal study of work schedule and prescribed sleep medication use in nurses

et al. 2022

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ObjectivesTo explore whether a change in work schedule was associated with a change in the probability of prescribed sleep medication use.MethodsA longitudinal study with annual questionnaire data (2008/2009–2021, except 2019) on work schedule (day work only, shift work without nights and shift work with nights) and prescribed sleep medication use from 2028 Norwegian nurses (mean age 31.7 years, 90.5% women at baseline) who participated in the ongoing Survey of Shift work, Sleep and Health (SUSSH). Associations were estimated using a random effects model, and a fixed effects regression model in which nurses were included as their own control to account for potential unobserved confounding.ResultsIn both models, day work was associated with a more than 50% lower probability of sleep medication use compared with shift work with nights (adjusted OR (aOR) 0.50, 95% CI 0.27 to 0.93 in the random effects model, and an aOR 0.32, 95% CI 0.14 to 0.70 in the fixed effects regression model). Shift work without nights was associated with a non-statistically significant reduction in sleep medication use within nurses in the fixed effects regression model when compared with shift work with nights (aOR 0.66, 95% CI 0.37 to 1.20).ConclusionsDay work was associated with a significant reduced probability of prescribed sleep medication use compared with shift work with nights. This indicates that quitting night work will improve sleep and thereby reduce hypnotic use.

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Rituals, ghosts and glorified babysitters: A narrative analysis of stories nurses shared about working the night shift

Cited by 5 publications

References 19 publications

Experiences and perceptions of nurses working night shift: a qualitative systematic review

Experiences and perceptions of nurses working night shift: a qualitative systematic review

Grace under pressure: Mental health nurses' stories of resilience in practice

A shift to something better? A longitudinal study of work schedule and prescribed sleep medication use in nurses

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