Rethinking shiftwork: mid-life nurses making it work!

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Sociology of Work
• Occupational Health

Background:

• Current shiftwork research often overlooks nurses' perspectives on their lifestyle.
• Existing studies tend to adopt a problem-centered approach to shiftwork.

Purpose of the Study:

• To re-analyze existing studies from the perspective of mid-life Australian female nurses.
• To explore how nurses develop and maintain tolerance for shiftwork.
• To challenge the problem-centered focus in shiftwork research.

Main Methods:

• Critical re-analysis of two qualitative studies involving mid-life Australian female nurses.
• Focus on nurses' lived experiences and self-identified strategies related to shiftwork.

Main Results:

• Nurses use shiftwork to manage nursing roles, negotiate work-life balance, and prioritize self-care (body and mind).
• Shiftwork facilitates a "time-body" relationship, demonstrating nurses' active reconfiguration of time.
• Positive aspects of shiftwork, when acknowledged, offer alternative perspectives on the shiftworking lifestyle.

Conclusions:

• The "problem-centered" approach in shiftwork research fails to address the core issue of developing and maintaining shiftwork tolerance for mid-life nurses.
• Acknowledging the positive aspects and adaptive strategies related to shiftwork is crucial for understanding nurses' experiences.
• Future research should incorporate nurses' voices to better support their shiftworking lifestyle and tolerance.