Long nursing shifts raise error risk

	Tweet

Nurses in U.S. hospitals about 40 percent of the time are working long shifts that raise the risk of medical mistakes such as giving the wrong medication or the wrong dose, a study released on Wednesday said.

The likelihood of a hospital nurse making a mistake was three times higher once a shift stretched past 12.5 hours, according to findings published in the journal Health Affairs.

The study, led by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, tracked 393 hospital nurses and found about 40 percent of their shifts exceeded 12.5 hours over a four-week period.

Extended nursing shifts are growing more common as hospitals struggle with a shortage of registered nurses. Working more than 40 hours per week or working unscheduled overtime also made errors more likely.

The researchers called for fewer long shifts and less overtime. “Routine use of 12-hour shifts should be curtailed, and overtime—especially that associated with 12-hour shifts—should be eliminated,” they wrote.

Data on the impact of long nursing shifts have been limited, although many studies have linked sleep-deprived physicians to medical mistakes, the study’s lead author said.

“There are over 50 studies of physicians’ work schedules, but we have never looked at our largest group of health-care providers, which are registered nurses,” Ann Rogers, the study’s lead author, said in an interview.

Rogers, an associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Nursing, and colleagues reviewed logbooks from 393 registered nurses throughout the country who worked full time in hospitals. The study analyzed data from 5,317 shifts over a four-week period. The longest shift lasted 23 hours and 40 minutes.

During the 5,317 shifts, there were 199 medical errors. Most were medication errors such as administering the wrong drug or the wrong dose, or giving medication later than scheduled. The study did not assess the impact of the errors on patients.

The nurses also reported 213 near errors, cases in which the nurses caught themselves before they made a mistake.

Working overtime raised the chances of making at least one error, regardless of how long the shift was originally scheduled to last, the study said.

In most cases, overtime was not scheduled in advance, Rogers said. On average, the nurses worked 55 minutes longer than scheduled each day. One-third of the nurses worked overtime every day they worked during the four weeks.

The research was funded by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a philanthropy devoted to health issues.

The Institute of Medicine, an independent organization that advises the federal government on medical matters, also has recommended easing nurses’ schedules, including limiting their workday to 12 hours. 

RELATED STORIES:
Health Profit Disappoints, 500 Jobs Cut   SARS seen re-emerging in China, but no epidemic   How Not to Get Sick on Your Summer Trip   The six habits of highly respectful physicians   Drugs, scrapping fees could save African lives   Poor healthcare may shorten American lives: study   Most American Adults Have at Least One Chronic Medical Condition   Researcher Hopes for FDA Action Against Alcoholic Energy Drinks   India not treating AIDS patients early: Global Fund   Britain must compensate Africa for subsidising its state health: charity   Docs will be in short supply in US, analysts say   India to step up AIDS fight, launch media campaign

Comments

[ + Post Your Own ]

Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not Armenian Medical Network's stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

There are no comments for this entry yet. [ + Comment here + ]