Skip Navigation
The Collection >
The working hours of hospital staff nurses and patient safety. Classic icon
Rogers AE, Hwang WT, Scott LD, Aiken LH, Dinges DF. Health Aff (Millwood). 2004;23:202-212.

This AHRQ-funded study demonstrated that the risk of error increased in association with extended work shifts, overtime, or longer than 40-hour work weeks. Using logbooks from nearly 400 nurses sampled out of a larger group from the American Nurses Association, investigators determined that an alarmingly high percentage of nurses report working extended hours. For those shifts longer than 12.5 hours, the error rate increased notably. The authors advocate for continued attention to relationships between nursing work hours and patient safety, building on past research that linked staffing to poor patient outcomes.

PubMed citation icon indicating hyperlink to external website
Available at icon indicating hyperlink to external website
white box
Related Resources
STUDY
How long and how much are nurses now working?
Trinkoff A, Geiger-Brown J, Brady B, Lipscomb J, Muntaner C. Am J Nurs. April 2006;106:60-71.
NEWSPAPER/MAGAZINE ARTICLE
Hospitals cutting nurses' long shifts.
Kowalczyk L. Boston Globe. September 17, 2005:A1.
COMMENTARY
Limiting nurse overtime, and promoting other good working conditions, influences patient safety.
Collins Sharp BA, Clancy CM. J Nurs Care Qual. 2008;23:97-100.
View all related resources...
white box
Download: Adobe Reader   email icon Email
tan box
Find Related Resources by...
Resource Type   
 style=
Target Audience  
 style=
Clinical Area  
 style=
Safety Target  
 style=
Approach to Improving Safety  
 style=
Origin/Sponsor  
white box