TJC: Worker fatigue can threaten safety
With the link between healthcare worker fatigue and adverse events s well documented, The Joint Commission (TJC) issued a new Sentinel Event Alert: Healthcare worker fatigue and patient safety.
The alert urges greater attention to preventing fatigue among healthcare workers and suggests specific actions for health care organizations to mitigate the risks. (The alert is available online at http://www.jointcommission.org/sea_issue_48.)
Research has shown that nurses who work more than 12-hour shifts and residents working recurrent 24-hour shifts were involved in three times more fatigue-related preventable adverse events, TJC reports. In addition, healthcare professionals who work long hours are at greater risk of injuring themselves on the job.
The alert addresses the effects and risks of an extended work day and of cumulative days of extended work hours. It recommends that healthcare organizations take these steps:
Assess fatigue-related risks such as off-shift hours, consecutive shift work, and staffing levels.
Examine processes when patients are handed off or transitioned from one caregiver to another, a time of risk that is compounded by fatigue.
Seek staff input on how to design work schedules that minimize the potential for fatigue and provide opportunities for staff to express concerns about fatigue.
Create and implement a fatigue management plan that includes scientific strategies for fighting fatigue such as engaging in conversation, physical activity, strategic caffeine consumption, and short naps.
Educate staff about good sleep habits and the effects of fatigue on patient safety.
The Joint Commission also suggests that healthcare organizations encourage teamwork as a strategy to support staff who work extended work shifts or hours. For example, use a system of independent second checks for critical tasks or complex patients. Also, organizations should consider fatigue as a potentially contributing factor when reviewing all adverse events, and you should educate employees on the importance of good sleep habits, including ensuring their rest environment is conducive to sleeping.
With the link between healthcare worker fatigue and adverse events s well documented, The Joint Commission (TJC) issued a new Sentinel Event Alert: Healthcare worker fatigue and patient safety.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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