Abstract

I applaud the reprinting of “Fatigue as It Affects Nursing” (From the AJN Archives) in conjunction with “Health Care Worker Fatigue” (Safety Monitor) in the August issue. I've been a nurse for 15 years and I know stress and fatigue as if they were blood relatives. I have worked 12-hour double shifts, worked 28 out of 30 days a month for over a year, and gone without lunches for longer than I want to admit because of short staffing. I've missed every holiday, school activity, and family event possible, and I've had to hear my all-too-mature six-year-old daughter tell me, “It's okay, Mommy, the patients need you more than I do,” as I tearfully donned scrubs on a Christmas morning because no one showed up to do a shift. I had hypertension before I turned 30, diabetes before I turned 40, and a miscarriage. I've watched many coworkers go through the same. None of us blame our jobs. We don't regret the choice we made to become nurses. We protect our patients and their care, no matter the cost.