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IDEAS THAT WORK
STAFF BURNOUT
Keep Long Shifts in Check
A
t our hospital,
staff work on
a 2-week, 80-
hour pay period. That
gives us — and our
employees — a lot of
flexibility to backload,
frontload and work
with requests for time
off. Like most hospitals, we run 24-, 16-,
12-, 10- and 8-hour
shifts. But burnout is
WORK-LIFE BALANCE Staff who work long shifts are
more likely to suffer from exhaustion.
always a concern, one
increasingly highlighted in studies and surveys.
To keep from overtaxing staff, I don't let those who've worked a 16
do anything longer than an 8 the next day. Staff on a 24 have a mandatory day off the following day and usually have off the day before, so
we don't run into issues with their calling off the day of the full-day
shift. We also put schedules out a couple months in advance, so staff
can trade shifts to fulfill obligations outside work.
To be sure we're not exhausting staff, I send everyone who does a
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O U T PAT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | J A N U A R Y 2013
