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BACKGROUND: Nurses working in hospitals may occasionally be reassigned to other wards for various reasons, for example to cover sudden absences or to support heavier-than-usual workloads. This practice is known as 'floating shifts'. AIM: To assess how nurses are affected by the stress of working floating shifts, to understand what causes and alleviates this stress and to identify strategies that can be used to reduce stress. METHOD: A cross-sectional research study which used an online survey. RESULTS: Data were collected from 1,334 nurses in nine Finnish hospitals. Of these respondents, 63% (n=846) had worked floating shifts. Data analysis showed that having worked floating shifts in the past 12 months was not associated with increased reports of ongoing stress. However, respondents identified factors that they found stressful during floating shifts, such as the lack of a work partner. CONCLUSION: Nurse managers should consider how floating shifts are administered so that nurses feel supported when working on a different ward or unit. Nurse managers can greatly influence nurses' ability to manage floating shifts.
RESUMEN
Aim This article describes the development and testing of an Excel-based scheduling solution for the flexible allocation and reallocation of nurses to cover sudden, unplanned absences among permanent nursing staff. Method A quasi-experimental, one group, pre- and post-test study design was used ( Box 1 ) with total sampling. Participants (n=17) were selected purposefully by including all ward managers (n=8) and assistant ward managers (n=9) from one university hospital department. The number of sudden absences among the nursing staff was identified during two 4-week data collection periods (pre- and post-test). Results During the use of the paper-based scheduling system, 121 absences were identified; during the use of the Excel-based system, 106 were identified. The main reasons for the use of flexible 'floating' nurses were sick leave (n=66) and workload (n=31). Other reasons (n=29) included patient transfer to another hospital, scheduling errors and the start or end of employment. Conclusion The Excel-based scheduling solution offered better support in obtaining substitute labour inside the organisation, with smaller employment costs. It also reduced the number of tasks ward managers had to carry out during the process of reallocating staff.