The impact of resident doctor strikes on the operational productivity and efficiency of nurses and pharmacists at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH)

Teaching hospitals in Nigeria are often disrupted by resident doctors’ strikes, forcing nurses and pharmacists to handle expanded roles with reduced team support. This study, anchored on the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model, investigated the impact of these strikes on the productivity of nurses and pharmacists as well as the operational efficiency of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH). A cross-sectional survey design was adopted. Using stratified random sampling, 200 healthcare workers (152 nurses and 48 pharmacists) at UBTH completed a validated self-administered Likert-scale questionnaire. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and simple linear regression in SPSS version 25 at p < 0.05 significance level. 93% of respondents had experienced at least one resident doctors’ strike, 55% of which lasted one month or longer. Participants strongly agreed that strikes disrupted normal work routines (M = 4.14), caused workload imbalance (increased in some units: M = 3.77; reduced due to suspended services: M = 3.98), led to underutilization of staff (M = 4.04), and negatively affected overall productivity (M = 4.06). Major challenges reported included schedule uncertainty (M = 4.12), increased fatigue and burnout (M = 4.01), workflow inefficiencies (M = 4.07), and stress/job dissatisfaction (M = 4.04). Management support and communication during strikes were rated poorly (M = 3.02 and 2.87 respectively). Regression analysis showed significant negative effects of strikes on nurses’ productivity (β=-0.421, p < 0.001, R²=0.177), pharmacists’ productivity (β=-0.386, p < 0.001, R²=0.149), and hospital operational efficiency (β=-0.452, p < 0.001, R²=0.204). All three null hypotheses were rejected. Resident doctors’ strikes significantly impair nurses’ and pharmacists’ productivity and reduce the operational efficiency at UBTH. Strengthening management support, communication, and contingency planning is essential to safeguard workforce productivity during future industrial actions.