.
The issues of mandatory overtime involve the loss of control over the ability to schedule non-work activities, educational commitments, and possibly, family responsibilities (Duclos-Miller, 2002). Nurses not only give up their free recreational time to care for patients when doing overtime, but they also return home exhausted and sometimes not able to spend quality time doing personal or family activities. When responding to the online survey conducted by the ANA, the effect of stress and overwork on nurses was the top concern cited by seventy-one percent of the nurses who stated they had worked some overtime shifts (Duclos-Miller, 2002). .
Nurses are very concerned that when working long and tiring mandatory shifts, their judgment may become impaired and the patient is at risk, as well as the nurse's license to practice. Mistakes in patient care can then lead to disciplinary action, dismissal and possible revocation of one's license (Duclos-Miller, 2002). In such mental conditions, it is possible for the nurse to perform medication calculation or dosing errors, thus tremendously endangering their patient. Pennsylvania's Nurse Practice Act, for one, says you may be violating professional standards if you act "in such a manner as to present an immediate and clear danger to the public health or safety" (Mee, 2001). Staying on a mandatory shift when fatigued violates such an act. .
Some views that support mandatory overtime do exist, however. Employees may make the decision to voluntarily take on overtime shifts. With overtime comes more money, such as time and a half and double time for hours more than 40 worked in one week. Furthermore, employers who violate the various laws would have to pay employees forced to work overtime ten times their regular hourly wage (Anonymous, 2001). One can understand why a nurse would choose to push oneself to the limit, especially if the nurse is in an unpleasant financial situation.
