Madison – Registered nurses gathered at the state capitol today with Senator Judy Robson and Representative Sandy Pasch to re-introduce legislation prohibiting employers from mandating overtime for health care employees who provide patient care.
While mandatory overtime had been traditionally used only during extreme emergencies, an increasing number of hospitals now use it as a regular practice to fill permanent holes in their staffing schedules. The dramatic deterioration of working conditions has driven many nurses out of the profession, and many others into non-direct care settings.
“Mandatory overtime is dangerous for patients. Fatigued nurses are much more likely to make errors, or to miss subtle changes in the condition of patients. Nobody wants a sleepy nurse,” stated Dian Palmer, a Registered Nurse and President of SEIU Healthcare District 1199 in Wisconsin.
Hospitals across the country regularly blame the shortage of nurses for staffing deficiencies, but in reality, there is more often a shortage of nurses willing to work in hospitals.