For submission of the research paper, the British Journal of Community Nursing was selected. It is a leading peer-reviewed journal in the UK with 12 issues per year and supplements. The journal contains publications devoted to modern clinical coverage, nursing care-related cases, and research projects. The journal quality and reputation are proved by the fact that it is indexed in MEDLINE and Scopus. For article submissions, the journal identifies the following types of works: research, innovations in practice, reviews of the evidence for clinical practice, comments on latest developments (British Journal of Community Nursing, 2017). The authors are expected to use headings to break up a long text and to indicate a change in subject. However, there is no definitive abstract structure proposed, which is why it is suggested to incorporate the following parts into the abstract submission: problem statement, project purpose, research questions, hypothesis, methodology, results, and conclusion.
Research Steps
Title of Project
Mandatory Overtime: An Exploration of Possible Preventive Measures.
Problem Statement
Mandatory overtime is an actual problem that reportedly exists in a wide range of health care organizations. Due to the staff shortage, nurses have to work longer hours in extremely stressful conditions that can lead to fatigue, medical mistakes, and poor patient care.
Purpose of the Project
The purpose of the research project is to identify the extent of the nurses’ overtime and what possible preventive measures can be taken aiming to solve the overtime problem
Research Questions
What is the amount of nurses’ weekly overtime work? What preventive measures and solutions to the problem do they see?
Hypothesis
It is assumed that most respondents spend extra hours at work doing the job that is supposed to be done by two and sometimes three nurses. Consequently, nurses do not get enough sleep, feel exhausted almost all the time and make medical mistakes, which hurt the patient’s care. It is believed that raising salaries and thus attracting more nurses will solve the overtime problem.
Methodology
The research will use both qualitative and quantitative methods. There will be interviews conducted to study the individual opinions. The overtime hours will also be calculated to obtain precise data.
Steps of Project Implementation
Nurses will be chosen randomly to form a group that will be proposed for the individual interviews. They will be asked a set of pre-prepared questions. However, the research will also consider all the additional information that may be provided by the respondents. Along with interviews, the nurses’ schedules will be recorded and compared with the established standards. After that, all the obtained data will be gathered for processing.
Results
The hypothesis was confirmed. Most respondents confirmed to be exhausted each shift and to make certain mistakes. The schedule also showed the number of extra hours that nurses have to work. Most respondents see that raising salaries to attract more nurses is the only solution to the problem.
Conclusion
Respondents agree that overtime work is a crucial problem that inevitably causes danger for both nurses and patients. Due to the impossibility to reduce the number of diseases, the respondents see the only solution to the problem: to hire more nurses by offering competitive salaries.
Impact on the Nursing Career
The health care industry is a highly important one because it deals with public health. That is why it requires constant improvement at each level of health care organizations. Nurses represent an important link in the chain that must work effectively. Continuous fatigue does not allow them to do their job properly. Thus, the overtime work problem must be solved to ensure that patients are well treated.
Reference
British Journal of Community Nursing. (2017). For authors. Web.