Napping during breaks on night shift: critical care nurse managers' perceptions.

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Critical Care
• Occupational Health

Background:

• Shift work and resulting fatigue pose risks to nurses and patients.
• Napping during night shifts can mitigate fatigue and enhance performance.
• Support for napping in healthcare settings is inconsistent.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate critical care unit managers' views on nursing staff napping during night shifts.
• To understand managers' perceptions of napping's benefits and barriers concerning patient and nurse safety.
• To explore managers' experiences with night shift napping practices.

Main Methods:

• A web-based survey was administered to 47 Canadian critical care unit managers.
• Data analysis included descriptive statistics and the Friedman rank test.
• Content analysis was used for open-ended responses.

Main Results:

• Managers perceive complexities and conflicts regarding nursing staff napping.
• Key considerations include staff/patient safety, work/break expectations, and organizational resources.
• Insights highlight the need for effective napping strategies and guidelines.

Conclusions:

• Managerial perceptions are crucial for developing napping policies.
• Balancing nurse well-being with patient safety is a central challenge.
• Further development of organizational napping strategies is recommended.