By Doug Cunningham

When overtime is forced on nurses, patients suffer. That picture emerges from a survey of nurses done by the Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals in Milwaukee. Forty-two percent of the nurses surveyed were forced to work overtime at least twice a month and 12 percent say overtime is forced on them at least once a week. The Wisconsin Federation of Nurses & Health Professionals say mandatory overtime increases nurse fatigue, which in turn contributes to errors made in patient care.