Diagnosis & Disease Information

In the first study to examine the relationship between nurse shift length and patients’ assessment of care, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing report that nurses working shifts of ten hours or longer were up to two and a half times more likely than nurses working shorter shifts to experience burnout and job dissatisfaction. Furthermore, seven out of ten patient outcomes were significantly and adversely affected by the longest shifts.

When Kitty Forman, the quirky mother of Eric Forman and wife of Red Forman in That ’70s Show, wasn’t busy mediating conflicts between her husband and son, she was a nurse. When Kitty is seen in her uniform, she is often portrayed as overworked and underappreciated. In the episode Career Day, Eric accompanies Kitty to the hospital and is amazed with all she has to do on a daily basis. One of Kitty’s coworkers tells him that his mother “does the work of 5 nurses.” In many episodes, Kitty is forced to neglect her roles as a mother and wife to work long shifts at the hospital. At one point in the series, she quits her job as a nurse because she finds herself struggling with balancing her home life and work. Is this how real-life nurses typically feel about their profession? Is “nurse burnout” a problem in America?