Nurse overload in emergencies: impacts on the quality of care and proposals for improvement

Abstract

Introduction: The hospital emergency room is a dynamic and crucial environment for public health, where nurses play a central role in service provision. Work overload in the emergency sector can have significant impacts on the quality of services provided. The objective of this work was to research the impacts that the overload of nurses working in the emergency sector can generate on the quality of service provision and to adopt proposals for improvement. Methodology: This is an exploratory literature review. Results and Discussion: In the present study, there was a predominance of publications in the years 2022 and 2023, with 4 publications each year. On the other hand, in 2020 there were no publications relevant to the study since the articles published in those years that were found did not address the main theme of the work and did not answer the questions raised. In 2021, only one work was published. In total, 11 articles that were related to the research topic were identified. It is noted that even though it is a subject recurring in research, few articles answered the objectives established by the work. Conclusion: The research showed that the overload of emergency nurses is a growing challenge in health services, which is reflected in the quality of care provided. Nurses work long shifts, often exceeding 12 hours, and care for a large number of patients with varied and critical conditions. This pressure results in physical and emotional stress, increasing the risk of errors in medication administration and procedure execution.

Keywords: Nursing; Urgency and Emergency; Professional Burnout.