Recommended Citation
Leddy J, Bialas J. Awake and Engaged: Night-shift Med-Surg Education that Drives Attendance and Satisfaction. Oral presentation at: AMSN 2026 Nursing Conference; September 24, 2026; Palm Springs, CA.
Presentation Notes
Oral presentation at: AMSN 2026 Nursing Conference; September 24, 2026; Palm Springs, CA.
Abstract
The availability of educational opportunities for medical-surgical nurses that occur during nightshift work hours is limited compared to offerings for their dayshift counterparts. While the acuity and care requirements of the patients are consistent between shifts, nightshift nurses often lack the same resources and access to skill acquisition. Nightshift nurses must attend education provided during dayshift hours if they wish to learn the same content. This results in nightshift staying after shift, coming in on a day off, or skipping the education altogether, which decreases nurse satisfaction and participation in educational sessions, and increases over shift or overtime hours. The Education Department at a community-based, level 1 trauma hospital held education sessions for nurses nine times during multiple overnight shifts in 2025. Via survey, nightshift nurses selected the topics they wanted presented, deciding on chest tubes, tracheostomies, and code blue basics/ crash cart overview. On the nights the sessions were held, three 30-minute sessions were offered, allowing nurses multiple opportunities to attend at their convenience. Sessions included both a classroom format and hands-on learning with question-and-answer portions. A total of 105 nightshift nurses attended the overnight sessions, with 85 completing the post-survey. The majority of nurses who attended (57%) had over 2 years of experience, including 36% with over 5 years' experience. Those with less than 6 months' experience, surprisingly, only totaled 22% of the participants. Close to 90% of attendees agreed or strongly agreed that they benefited more from the night shift education because it was offered when they were more alert and engaged. Additionally, 94% agreed or strongly agreed that it increased their workplace satisfaction and enhanced their professional development, and 92% of attendees agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that they were more likely to attend an optional education session if it was held overnight during their shift. Of note, 100%(n=25) of nurses who had a patient with a tracheostomy or chest tube after receiving the nightshift education reported feeling better prepared to care for these patients. For traditional dayshift education, seven optional classes were offered in 2025 with only 62 nightshift nurses attending, compared to the 105 who attended the three education sessions offered during overnight hours. When asked if they would have attended the sessions regardless of time of day, 76 nurses (89%) reported that they would not have attended if it was only offered during the day and therefore would not have received the education. For the11% who reported they still would have attended education during day shift hours, the cost of attendance (due to overtime/ over shift hours and the number of sessions attended) had the potential to cost the organization upwards of$2000 just for 9 nurses. In 2024, the overtime hours attributed to Clinical Education alone were 116 hours, or an average of $8200. This dropped to 50 hours, or an average of $3500 dollars, in 2025.Offering education at night for nightshift nurses significantly improves their participation, satisfaction and confidence, while saving the organization money.
Document Type
Oral/Podium Presentation
Affiliations
Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital