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Updated: Jul 4, 2026
08:36
Collecting Sleep, Circadian, Fatigue, and Performance Data in Complex Operational Environments
Published on: August 8, 2019
Differences in day and night shift clinical performance in anesthesiology
Caroline G L Cao1, Matthew B Weinger, Jason Slagle
1School of Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts, USA.
Human Factors
|June 4, 2008
Summary
Anesthesia residents performed fewer manual tasks and more monitoring tasks at night due to fatigue. Mood was more negative at night, but workload and response times remained similar, suggesting compensatory strategies for patient safety.
Area of Science:
- Anesthesiology
- Medical Education
- Human Factors Engineering
Background:
- Physician fatigue from sleep deprivation is prevalent, especially during residency.
- Night shifts are common in medical training, posing risks to performance and well-being.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate differences in operating room clinical duties performed by anesthesia residents during day versus night shifts.
- To assess the impact of fatigue on resident performance and mood.
Main Methods:
- A repeated-measures design compared 13 pairs of day-night matched anesthesia cases.
- Evaluated task times, workload ratings, alarm response latency, and mood.
Main Results:
- Night shift residents spent less time on manual tasks and more on monitoring.
- Residents reported more negative mood during night shifts, pre- and post-operation.
- No significant differences in workload ratings or alarm response times were observed.
Conclusions:
- Observed performance and mood changes at night are likely due to fatigue after prolonged work hours.
- Task distribution shifts may be compensatory strategies to maintain patient care quality under fatigue.
- Fatigue effects necessitate careful consideration in designing clinician work-rest schedules.
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