Motherʼs Hours: “Extra” RNs Balance the Workload

Administrative consolidations at the University Hospital of Arkansas (Little Rock, Arkansas) intensified the usual difficulties of short-staffing. When nurses began to transfer or resign because of frustration and anxiety, the department of nursing appointed a Recruitment/Retention Committee to recommend strategies for improving morale. Although many improvements were implemented, the problem of having enough of the right kinds of nursing personnel remained. To relieve this situation, the nursing department set up a Mother's Hours Program (MHP), which offers shorter hours at conveniently negotiated periods throughout the day so that mothers who are registered nurses can return to work and still be home with their children when they need to be. While primary or associate nurses undertake overall patient care responsibilities, the MHP nurses' responsibilities center around task assignments that assist them. When 11 units at University Hospital using MHP nurses were surveyed, 89% of the respondents found them helpful.