Background

Some challenges affecting student nurse learning include student fatigue, clinical recovery time, and hindered clinical experiences due to students experiencing long clinical shifts.

Aim

The aim of this study was to evaluate the differences between 12-hour biweekly and 6-hour weekly shifts on student nurse fatigue.

Methods

A descriptive research design was used with second-year nursing students (N = 80) upon completion of their clinical rotations of four distinct cohorts during 2019–2020. All students in these cohorts were invited to complete the Occupational Fatigue Exhaustion Recovery (OFER15) online survey, developed and validated to assess the full spectrum of fatigue.

Results

There were no statistically significant differences in acute fatigue, chronic fatigue, or the inter-shift recovery subscale for the 6-hour and 12-hour clinical groups. Student nurses, like registered nurses, would likely prefer to choose between a 6-hour and 12-hour clinical shift depending on their individual circumstances. In the parameters of this study, there was no statistical significance in shift length and student nurse fatigue.

Linking Evidence to Action

Student nurse fatigue levels can affect learning inside and outside of nursing clinical experiences. In this study, no statistical significances were found between 6-hour and 12-hour clinical experiences in second-year nursing students. Offering both the 6-hour and 12-hour clinical experiences provides flexibility for students, clinical sites, and the school of nursing.