Facing a staffing shortage, the Icelandic Nurses’ Association is concerned that “pangs of conscience” might force nurses to work exceedingly long hours, reports RÚV.
Managers put nurses in a difficult situation when they appeal to their conscience or try to use cooperation to get them to work extra shifts.
“This summer is, so to speak, the worst that has happened because there has been a long-term shortage of nurses. There have been significant changes in the working environment of nurses around COVID, and people have taken on perhaps more than is normal in light of this. But now that people were going to look forward to a better time and go on holiday, it’s just not possible,” Halla Eiríksdóttir, vice chairman of the Association of Nurses, wrote on the association’s website.
Halla says this is a well-known tactic to get people to work more. Nurses are happy to prioritize the needs of their patients over their own needs and the interests of their families. However, it will take a toll in the long run.
“People do not have the stamina for this, they do not want to come to work, they do not want questions about work because it is just so hard to say no. You know how difficult the situation is in the association,” she says.
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