12-hour shifts: an ethical dilemma for the nurse executive.
Flexible work hours, including 12-hour shifts, have become a common scheduling option for nurses. The author explores whether 12-hour shifts are an ethical scheduling option for nurses because recent research suggests that 12-hour shifts are a potential hazard to patients. A multistep model for ethical decision making, reflecting the concept of procedural justice, is used to examine this issue.
Lorenz
Susan G
SG
University Medical Center at Princeton, Princeton, New Jersey 08540, USA. slorenz@princetonhcs.org
D003657:Decision Making; D004993:Ethics, Nursing; D006801:Humans; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D019300:Medical Errors; D009718:Nurse Administrators / Q000941:ethics*; D009732:Nursing Care / Q000145:classification; D010561:Personnel Staffing and Scheduling / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D012449:Safety; D013997:Time Factors; D014940:Work Schedule Tolerance