Fatigue and charting errors: the benefit of a reduced call schedule

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Patient Safety
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Fatigue from long work hours, on-call duties, and inadequate rest impacts perioperative documentation.
• Nurse charting errors are a critical concern in healthcare quality reviews.
• The link between fatigue and documentation accuracy requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the relationship between nurse fatigue and charting errors.
• To assess the impact of a reduced call schedule on documentation errors.
• To identify specific shifts most affected by documentation errors.

Main Methods:

• A comparative study was conducted at a not-for-profit, Magnet community hospital.
• Nursing documentation errors were analyzed before and after implementing a reduced call schedule.
• Data focused on nurses working 12-hour or call shifts.

Main Results:

• A significant reduction in nursing documentation errors was observed post-implementation.
• The greatest decrease in errors occurred among nurses working 12-hour or call shifts.
• Reduced call schedules appear to mitigate documentation errors.

Conclusions:

• Implementing reduced call schedules can effectively decrease nursing documentation errors.
• Addressing nurse fatigue through schedule adjustments is crucial for improving charting accuracy.
• Optimizing work hours and rest periods enhances patient safety and documentation quality.