Nurse fatigue and medication errors

Nursing fatigue can also be associated with nurse injury such as needlestick injuries. Jordan Ferris BSN RN CMSRN is a nursing practice consultant for the Oregon Nurses Association in Tuala - tin.

2 24 In addition rotating shifts and extended work hours of 125 hours or more have been shown to increase injuries and automobile accidents among nurses 25 and chronic fatigue has been found to result in depression and poor global sleep quality.

Nurse fatigue and medication errors. The findings did not illustrate a significant relationship between job satisfaction and fatigue with medication errors. Among the demographic characteristics age of nurses was significantly associated with the frequency of medication errors p0037. Medication preparation errors and concentration fatigue subscale in the medical unit were also correlated.

This study concluded that there was no statistical significant correlation. Interns have significant risk of depression which correlates with increased likelihood of self-documented and supervisor noted medical errors 17. The risk of an internal medicine resident reporting a major medical error increases from 15 to 28 as fatigue depression or both increase 1.

Fatigue is a contributing factor for nurse absenteeism burnout and job dissatisfaction. 2 24 In addition rotating shifts and extended work hours of 125 hours or more have been shown to increase injuries and automobile accidents among nurses 25 and chronic fatigue has been found to result in depression and poor global sleep quality. 18 Minimal data however are available in the perioperative setting related to fatigue and increased errors.

Fatigued nurses are at risk. Evidence has mounted that the typical 12-hour work shift in hospitals jeopardizes patient and nurse safety and leads to medical errors. Hospitals in which nurses work long hours have higher rates of patients deaths from pneumonia and acute myocardial infarction according to a study.

Edwards Axe 2015 found that the five most common medication errors were unclear prescriptions wrong dose being transcribed incorrect frequency drug omission or delays in drug administration. Two of these errors seem to originate with the physician or the prescriber of the medication. One of the findings from a 5-year Australian longitudinal study on nursing units showed that medication errors increased with more delays in nursing tasks per shift Duffield et al 2011.

For hospitalized patients the likelihood of pneumonia deaths significantly increased when nurses worked longer than 13 hours and had less than 10 hours of rest between two consecutive shifts Trinkoff et. Stress and fatigue impact on patient safety. Staff experience stress when they feel unable to cope with work demands or the work environment.

Stress impacts productivity to the detriment of physical or mental health 1. Accumulated hours and non-standard shift patterns can contribute to errors. The average number of medication errors per nurse per shift was 140 2.

Wrong time and wrong rate were the most frequent medication errors 231 each. About half 519 of the nurses reported deficient sleep hours. The problem can be worse because nurses have the most direct contact with patients and fatigue-induced errors or oversights can start a chain reaction of improper care Boothman explains.

Nurses also can be more susceptible to fatigue than residents because the nurse is working constantly through the shift unlike residents who work long hours but can rest when they have time he says. In this report fatigue is characterized as a latent hazard and an unsafe condition in health care that leads to increased medical error rates. In a classic review of sleep deprivation and decision-making investigators argued that effective performance in health care environments requires naturalistic decision-making and situation awareness.

This type of thinking involves assessing and planning for. Nursing fatigue is a current and well-researched topic. Many negative outcomes and consequences exist for patients and nurses that have been linked to nursing fatigue.

Medical errors are one such consequence and these errors have become one of the top three preventable deaths in. Medication errors are the third leading cause of preventable death. Extended work hours can be associated with nursing fatigue and errors.

Nursing fatigue can also be associated with nurse injury such as needlestick injuries. Jordan Ferris BSN RN CMSRN is a nursing practice consultant for the Oregon Nurses Association in Tuala - tin. Study Reveals Widespread Fatigue Risk for Errors with 12-Hour Nursing Shifts.

The common practice of successive 12-hour shifts for US. Hospital nurses leaves many with serious sleep deprivation a higher risk of health problems and more odds of making patient errors according to a University of Maryland Baltimore UMB study. Medication errors fall into these categories.

The nurse is responsible for understanding a drugs action and its side effects administering it correctly monitoring the clients response and helping the client self administer drugs correctly and knowledgably Proulx 1993.