Nursing

Web site spotlight: Staff development on the evening and night shifts

Nurse Leader Weekly, April 26, 2010

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Providing learning opportunities for evening and night shift staff requires innovation and commitment. People who work evenings and nights often complain they feel slighted when it comes to education. They are often asked to come in early or stay beyond their shifts so they can participate in educational offerings. They would prefer in-person programs during the hours they work.

Staff development specialists have their own concerns about providing in-person offerings during these shifts. Attendance is often poor, and thus some educators feel it is a waste of time to try to offer education during the evening and night shifts. How can staff development professionals reconcile such problems and still establish a presence on these shifts?

Consultation with colleagues has generated much discussion and some practical ideas for problem resolution. A physical presence on evenings and nights is important, but must be carefully planned. Few departments have the staffing resources to assign regular persons to these shifts. If you do, you need to show that it is cost-effective and has a positive effect on job performance and organizational functioning. Let’s start by reviewing the distance learning methods established for all shifts.

Editor’s note: To read the rest of this article, visit “Staff development on the evening and night shifts: Tips for providing meaningful learning experiences” found in the Reading Room at www.StrategiesForNurseManagers.com.

Do you need continuing education (CE) credits? Check out this month’s CE article to learn how suicide risk assessment is an important part of patient safety or visit our archives and view a compilation of CE articles (marked with an asterisk).



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