Disciplines
Medicine and Health Sciences
Abstract (300 words maximum)
Reducing the Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Nursing Staff Abstract
Bedside nurses overcome many obstacles during their weekly shifts, but one very preventable problem is still an issue. Sleep deprivation in nursing staff can lead to medication errors, decreased reactivity times leading to treatment delays, and subpar overall patient care; all of which directly compromises patient safety. Recent studies have found that the majority of nurses report fatigue interfering with their cognition and memory during their shifts and additionally even more nurses report having made a math error when drawing up and preparing medication for their patients. Despite sleep deprivation among nursing staff possibly compromising patient safety, most hospitals recommend that their staff make lifestyle changes such as limiting caffeine intake during shifts, establishing bedtime routines, meditating, as well as making appropriate nutritional adjustments. However, none of these tactics address the direct causes of the sleep deprivation in the workplace, such as consecutive shifts or excessive overtime.
This project intends to implement a new policy that would limit the number of consecutive shifts and overtime days per week as well as limit the acuity of consecutive assignments. The project will measure the results by requiring nurses to take cognitive memory quizzes after working consecutive shifts before the new policy implementation, during these quizzes the nurses will also be asked to record the number of medication errors, delayed orders, and hours many of sleep they had prior to each shift. The nurses will also be asked to complete the same cognitive quizzes as well as the self-reporting surveys again three months after the policies have been implemented. The scores and self-reports from before and after policy implementation will then be compared to measure any improvement on sleep deprivation and patient care.
Academic department under which the project should be listed
Nursing
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Dr. Christie Emerson
Additional Faculty
Felicia Lanier, Nursing, flanier1@kennesaw.edu
Included in
Reducing the Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Nursing Staff
Reducing the Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Nursing Staff Abstract
Bedside nurses overcome many obstacles during their weekly shifts, but one very preventable problem is still an issue. Sleep deprivation in nursing staff can lead to medication errors, decreased reactivity times leading to treatment delays, and subpar overall patient care; all of which directly compromises patient safety. Recent studies have found that the majority of nurses report fatigue interfering with their cognition and memory during their shifts and additionally even more nurses report having made a math error when drawing up and preparing medication for their patients. Despite sleep deprivation among nursing staff possibly compromising patient safety, most hospitals recommend that their staff make lifestyle changes such as limiting caffeine intake during shifts, establishing bedtime routines, meditating, as well as making appropriate nutritional adjustments. However, none of these tactics address the direct causes of the sleep deprivation in the workplace, such as consecutive shifts or excessive overtime.
This project intends to implement a new policy that would limit the number of consecutive shifts and overtime days per week as well as limit the acuity of consecutive assignments. The project will measure the results by requiring nurses to take cognitive memory quizzes after working consecutive shifts before the new policy implementation, during these quizzes the nurses will also be asked to record the number of medication errors, delayed orders, and hours many of sleep they had prior to each shift. The nurses will also be asked to complete the same cognitive quizzes as well as the self-reporting surveys again three months after the policies have been implemented. The scores and self-reports from before and after policy implementation will then be compared to measure any improvement on sleep deprivation and patient care.