Hospital nurses often work shifts of 12 hours or longer, either by choice or because of pressure from their managers. But what effects do such long hours have on job satisfaction, and equally important, on the quality of patient care? A new research paper — “The Longer the Shifts for Hospital Nurses, the Higher the Levels of Burnout and Patient Dissatisfaction,” by Amy Witkoski Stimpfel, Douglas M. Sloane and Linda H. Aiken — offers some perspectives. Knowledge@Wharton asked Stimpfel, a research fellow at the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy research at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, to elaborate on the researchers’ findings.

Download an edited transcript of the conversation here.