A comparison of nurse shift workers' and non-shift workers' psychological functioning and resilience.

AIMS: To investigate the impact of shift work on the psychological functioning and resilience of nurses by comparing nurses who work shifts and nurses who work regular hours. DESIGN: A comparative descriptive design using an online self-report questionnaire. METHOD: Data were collected from employed Registered and Enrolled Nurses (N = 1,369) who were members of the Queensland Nurses and Midwives Union (QNMU) in 2013. The survey included standardized measures of resilience, depression, anxiety, compassion satisfaction, compassion fatigue, and intention to leave the profession. RESULTS: Generalized Linear Mixed Model analysis revealed shift workers had significantly lower levels of compassion satisfaction. However, there were no significant differences between the groups on resilience, depression, anxiety, stress, compassion fatigue or intention to leave nursing. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that shift work is not associated with worse psychological functioning or lower resilience in nurses. However, this study requires replication using a longitudinal design to confirm these findings.

What is the impact of shift work on the psychological functioning and resilience of nurses? An integrative review.

AIM: To synthesize existing research to determine if nurses who work shifts have poorer psychological functioning and resilience than nurses who do not work shifts. BACKGROUND: Research exploring the impact of shift work on the psychological functioning and resilience of nurses is limited compared with research investigating the impact of shifts on physical outcomes. DESIGN: Integrative literature review. DATA SOURCES: Relevant databases were searched from January 1995-August 2016 using the combination of keywords: nurse, shift work; rotating roster; night shift; resilient; hardiness; coping; well-being; burnout; mental health; occupational stress; compassion fatigue; compassion satisfaction; stress; anxiety; depression. REVIEW METHODS: Two authors independently performed the integrative review processes proposed by Whittemore and Knafl and a quality assessment using the mixed-methods appraisal tool by Pluye et al. RESULTS: A total of 37 articles were included in the review (32 quantitative, 4 qualitative and 1 mixed-methods). Approximately half of the studies directly compared nurse shift workers with non-shift workers. Findings were grouped according to the following main outcomes: (1) general psychological well-being/quality of life; (2) Job satisfaction/burnout; (3) Depression, anxiety and stress; and (4) Resilience/coping. We did not find definitive evidence that shift work is associated with poorer psychological functioning in nurses. Overall, the findings suggest that the impact of shift work on nurse psychological functioning is dependent on several contextual and individual factors. CONCLUSION: More studies are required which directly compare the psychological outcomes and resilience of nurse shift workers with non-shift workers.