Accountable Healthcare Staffing Blog

Fatigue Study Author Calls for Nap Breaks and Shorter Shifts

The lead author of a study on inadequate sleep among nurses has called for management to encourage strategic napping and shorter shifts, according to a Health Leaders Media story. Lead author Linda D. Scott, RN, PhD, NEA-BC, FAAN, is an associate dean for academic affairs and an associate professor, College of Nursing, University of Illinois at Chicago. Her study, in the January issue of the American Journal of Critical Care, found that nurses impaired by fatigue and an inability to recover between shifts are more likely than well-rested nurses to report "decision regret." 

Decision regret is a negative cognitive emotion that occurs when an actual outcome differs from the desired or expected outcome. Entitled "Association of Sleep and Fatigue With Decision Regret Among Critical Care Nurses," the study included a survey of 605 critical care nurses, and 29 percent of them reported having experienced decision regret.

 Healthcare employers should implement scheduling models that maximize management of fatigue, states a news release on the study from The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. "Proactive intervention is required to ensure that critical care nurses are fit for duty and can make decisions that are critical for patients' safety," said Scott in the news release.  

Our work is demanding and requires and acute sense of awareness and attention to detail in addition to a plethora of other skills, but will strategic naps or even shorter shifts really have the impact that Scott is expecting it to have? We'd love to hear your comments and don't forget to share.