The Effects of Extended Work Shifts on Healthcare Workers' Health and Risks to Patient Safety

Abstract

The safety and quality of patient care may be compromised by fatigue and excessive workload carried by healthcare providers. In contrast to regulations for working hours of non-healthcare workers, no such standards stipulate work periods for physicians and nurses. There is a large body of scientific research produced on the topic of fatigue and performance, some of which has been generated because of recent requirements for residents, and also by work-hour changes for pilots. The investigators in this paper reviewed the literature on the effects of extended work on healthcare workers and provided recommendations for decision makers, workers, and future researchers. (Pérez-Francisco et al.2020)

It is difficult to make evidence-based determinations about the impact of extended work shifts on healthcare workers and patient safety. The goal is to match work schedules with work demands so that worker fatigue, errors, and accidents are minimized while addressing the medical needs of patients. There are many studies on which to base conclusions; however, many are limited to the short-term effects of completing extended work shifts, particularly relating to on-the-job performance. There are virtually no prospective data linking healthcare providers to patient safety indicators, so decisions are based on surrogate or laboratory tests. In addition, because most shift work limitations are derived from industrial settings, it is not clear under what circumstances they would be directly applicable to healthcare workers. Data from other shift work settings are used here, and where available findings are related to healthcare providers, to offer recommendations for readers. (Dreiher et al.2020)