Nurses are the largest group of health professionals, providing vital care 24/7. DHB-based nurses working in acute settings account for approximately 40% of all Registered and Enrolled Nurses.
We recently conducted a 3-year project that aimed to combine new science and your nursing knowledge and expertise to better manage fatigue in New Zealand hospitals. This website features our progress on this project, including publications and outputs. Together we have an opportunity to create positive change!
When it comes to fatigue and shift work, there are three facts you need to know:
1. We function best with unrestricted sleep at night.
2. Fatigue is impairment caused by not enough sleep, by staying awake too long and by trying to sleep and work in the wrong parts of the circadian body clock cycle.
3. Shift work is any work pattern that requires you to be awake when you would normally be asleep, on a day when you’re free to choose your schedule.
All three of these physiological factors can reduce your alertness and ability to perform your job safely, as well as your ability to get home healthy and safe.
Check out our fatigue facts section below for more information.
We are pleased to announce that the First Edition of the National Code of Practice has been released. Download it here.[more]
The Safer Nursing 24/7 project team is pleased to release the First Edition of the National Code of Practice for managing nurses’ fatigue and shift work in DHB hospitals. The Code of Practice provides a ground-breaking approach to addressing the challenges associated with shift work, long hours, and the fatigue they generate. It merges the latest science and safety management practice with extensive nursing sector expertise and experience, and is endorsed by WorkSafe, the New Zealand Nurses Organisation, and the Council of Trade Unions.
The First Edition of the Code of Practice can be accessed here.
Check out our new article presenting findings from the national survey[more]
We're pleased to announce that we have published our first scientific article from the Safer Nursing 24/7 project in the International Journal of Nursing Studies. This article presents some of the findings from the 2016-2017 national survey of New Zealand nurses.
Access the article via the DOI link below.
Gander, P., O’Keeffe, K., Santos-Fernandez, E., Huntington, A., Walker, L., & Willis, J. (2019). Fatigue and nurses’ work patterns: An online questionnaire survey. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 98, 67-74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2019.06.011
The Safer Nursing 24/7 team would like to thank all of you who have provided feedback on the draft National Code of Practice for...[more]
The Safer Nursing 24/7 team would like to thank all of you who have provided feedback on the draft National Code of Practice for Managing Fatigue and Shift Work in Hospital-Based Nursing. The public consultation period has now officially ended and we are working through the feedback we have received. This feedback will be taken into account when creating the next version of the document.
We have had a very positive response to the draft Code of Practice and have been invited to meet with a number of organisations during the consultation period. We have met with representatives from:
- Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon Iain Lees-Galloway
- Chief Nursing Officer, Ministry of Health
- Chief Medical Officer, Ministry of Health
- WorkSafe
- ACC
- Safe Staffing Healthy Workplaces
- Health Workforce New Zealand
- TAS
- CTU
- DHB General Managers of Human Resources
We are grateful for the ongoing support for this initiative and look forward to sharing the next version of the Code of Practice with you.
