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Union backs federal legislation to limit mandatory overtime for nurses March 3, 2005 Union leaders applauded the introduction of federal legislation that would strictly limit mandatory overtime for nurses. The Safe Nursing and Patient Care Act of 2005 was introduced in the House by U.S. Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif., and Rep. Steven LaTourette, R-Ohio. The Senate companion bill is sponsored by Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass. The legislation would strictly limit the use of mandatory overtime for nurses to states of emergency declared by federal, state or local government. However, nurses would be allowed to work overtime voluntarily if they felt they could continue to provide safe, quality care. "Forcing nurses to work overtime is as dangerous as the now illegal practice of requiring pilots and truckers to work beyond their regular shift," said Ed McElroy, president of the American Federation of Teachers, NYSUT's national affiliate. "When health care facilities rely on overworked, exhausted nurses, they are gambling that patients won't die or otherwise be harmed by inadvertent mistakes. Ending the unsafe practice of mandatory overtime is absolutely necessary so that nurses can provide the kind of care they are trained to give and that patients need." McElroy cited a study in the July/August 2004 Health Affairs Journal. It found that nurses who worked shifts of 12.5 hours or more were three times more likely to commit an error than nurses who worked a standard shift of 8.5 hours or less. The study also found that working overtime increased the odds of making at least one error, regardless of how long the original shift. The measure would prohibit hospitals from requiring a nurse to work beyond the scheduled work shift, 12 hours in a 24-hour period, or 80 hours in a consecutive 14-day period. AFT Healthcare, a division of the 1.3-million member AFT, represents more than 70,000 nurses and other health care professionals. New York State United Teachers is backing similar state legislation for hospital nurses, said Anne Goldman, a New York City nurse who chairs the NYSUT Health Care Professionals Council. One anti-mandatory OT proposal would limit to 16 the number of consecutive hours a nurse may be on duty. Another key union-backed legislative proposal would establish safe nurse-patient ratios in health care facilities. |
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