icb1977

itsthedude: I agree, when things go wrong, people are quick to throw you under the bus. A RN has to not only protect the patients, but also themselves too. It is my opinion, that a RN saying I'm too fatigued to work another shift is in fact a protection to both patients and themselves. Making sure that the patients get adequate care.

I'm not an RN, my wife is. She wasn't on the phone calling for replacements, she was tending to the patients, not hitting the phone tree for her relief. It wasn't until it got close to her next "pre-scheduled" shift and when she brought it up on the phone to her boss, that it was thrown on her shoulders. I was just curious as to if you could legally work even if you wanted to, after such a long shift. The 3 nurses did relieve each other to give each other breaks throughout that time however. It allowed for quick power naps, even so once the daytime came they really didn't have the ability to keep rotating as the patients woke up too.

What are OSHA's restrictions on length of shift for a RN? Also, does OSHA restrictions get waived during special circumstances? i.e. Blizzard? Basically is a RN allowed to work for 24+ hours straight with no relief? I feel this is a risk not just to the RN, but to the patients as well, considering fatigue could lead to medical mistakes. Also, in your opinion, in an understaffed environment (night staff of 3 RNs seeing as the storm hit late at night) is it the responsibility of the RNs on-site to find their replacements, which would take their attention away from the patients, or would that be the responsibility of the administration?