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Do Nurses Take Work Home (Answered)

If you are studying to be a nurse, you may know that shifts range from 8-12+ hours.

You may have heard nurses take work home with them despite those long hours.

In this guide, you will learn if this is true and all the details concerning stressful aspects of nursing work.

Do Nurses Take Work Home?

Nurses who work in a formal setting do not take work home with them.

Nurses and doctors uphold patient confidentiality, ensuring they do not share any personal or health information outside the patient’s circle of care.

So, if nurses have work to complete after their shift, they typically take on overtime hours or pass the work along to the nurses on the next shift.

Do Nurses Have To Do Paperwork At Home?

Although paperwork takes up a large portion of nursing responsibilities, most nurses cannot take paperwork home with them.

Only nurses who do not work in a traditional setting may take paperwork home with them.

In-home nurses or home care nurses work within the comfort of a patient’s own home.

Since this is the case, they may complete their paperwork during their shift, or they may finish their paperwork from home.

Do Nurses Do A Lot Of Paperwork?

Surveys show nurses spend a significant amount of time completing paperwork during their shifts.

During a typical 12-hour shift, they may spend up to 9 hours doing paperwork.

Today, nurses do most of the paperwork electronically which makes it easier.

Nurses can use tablets or computers to read patient charts, complete patient charts, document medication, request information from other providers, and complete requests for information.

Despite this, many nurses report that they often need to put in additional after-hours work to accomplish all their paperwork.

Want to know how nursing stacks up against an engineering degree? Read our comparison of nursing and electrical engineering.

How Do Nurses Not Take Work-From-Home?

If you worry that you may need to work remotely or work from home after hours, you can rest assured that this is not the norm.

However, some jobs may allow certain employees to work via videoconferencing, remote home monitoring, or data collection and charting through a secure server.

During your interview, ask if they require work-from-home hours if you do not complete your work during your shift.

In this way, you can make sure you understand the expectations of your workplace before onboarding.

Employers mostly expect their nursing staff to complete paperwork and charting in the workplace.

How Do I Turn Off Nursing After Work?

Sometimes, taking work home with you does not involve completing physical work.

Since nursing involves taking care of people going through difficult times, nurses take home emotional and mental stress.

In fact, 60% of nurses report emotional exhaustion.

For this reason, it is increasingly important to know how to cope with stress and turn off nursing after a shift ends.

There are many effective strategies, including:

  • Tracking Stressors: Track what affects you personally. It may be confronting illnesses and mortality, interacting with loved ones going through challenges, or lack of time to oneself.
  • Performing Routine Self-Care: Set up a self-care routine you can look forward to after or before work. It is also an excellent idea to make sure your basic needs are met, including eating regularly and getting enough sleep.
  • Establishing Boundaries: Personal boundaries with your workplace, family, and friends assist greatly in maintaining your mental health. Never mix your personal life and work. Your friends and family should not contact you during your shifts, and you should not reply to requests from work when you are off-the-clock or not on-call.
  • Taking Advantage of Benefits: Nurses commit themselves to take care of others, but they also must take care of themselves to do that. If you have a benefits package, you may have access to mental health coverage. Working with a professional therapist can help you establish proper work-personal life balance and cope with stressors.

Do Nurses Get A Lot Of Time Off?

One of the perks of being a registered nurse is access to excellent benefits packages.

They can include paid sick leave, paid holiday leave, paid family leave, and paid vacation.

In comparison to other workers, nurses have more access to paid vacation. Almost 90% of nurses have paid vacation leave compared to 76% of other workers.

Additionally, they have an above-average amount of vacation days.

They may receive three more vacation days than other workers.

Depending on their years of service, they can receive from 17 to 26 vacation days per year.

How Stressful Is Being A Nurse?

Nursing is a high-stress job, involving many responsibilities such as:

  • Performing several different tasks throughout a shift
  • Carrying out 8-12+ hour shifts many times per week
  • Ensuring precise assessments, recording, and care
  • Observing patients and their vitals thoroughly
  • Maintaining professional relationships with other medical staff

Due to all these obligations, and any responsibilities in your personal life, it is important to manage stress levels and maintain your health.

If you do not, you face a high risk of burnout and health complications. And you may even regret becoming a nurse.

Furthermore, your stress may cause you to misread chards, miss important observations, and make critical medical errors.

What Does A Home Health Nurse Do?

A home health nurse or in-home nurse may have an easier-paced career than a nurse working in a hospital or clinic.

They assist and monitor people with disabilities, chronic illnesses, or age-related problems from the comfort of the patients’ own homes or a group home.

They may assist them with daily living activities, self-care, and performing errands.

Home health nurses may also monitor their health and provide them with medication or necessary medical care.

Read more: Calculators And Math For Nursing

Final Thoughts

Whether you are spending the majority of your time caring for others or completing paperwork, you may experience emotional and mental stress as a nurse.

It is essential to take care of your needs and desires while in this line of work.

In this way, you can ensure you are happy, healthy, and fulfilling your duties to the best of your ability.