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CE: Original Research: Napping on the Night Shift: A Two-Hospital Implementation Project
Jeanne Geiger-Brown1, Knar Sagherian, Shijun Zhu
1Jeanne Geiger-Brown is founding dean of the School of Health Professions at Stevenson University, Stevenson, MD. At the time of this study, she was an associate professor in the Department of Family and Community Health at the University of Maryland School of Nursing in Baltimore, where Knar Sagherian is a doctoral candidate and Shijun Zhu is an assistant professor in the Department of Organizational Systems and Adult Health. Margaret Ann Wieroniey is a pediatric intensive care nurse at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, DC, where Lori Blair is nursing administrative manager of central staffing operations and Rose Szeles is director of nursing for the hematology, oncology, and bone marrow transplant programs. At the time of the study, Joan Warren, now retired, was the director of nursing research and Magnet at MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center in Baltimore. Pamela S. Hinds is director of the Department of Nursing Research and Quality Outcomes and associate director of the Center for Translational Science at Children's National Health System in Washington, DC, as well as a professor of pediatrics at the George Washington University. This study was supported by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (grant number R21OH009979). Contact author: Jeanne Geiger-Brown, jgeiger-brown@stevenson.edu. The authors and planners have disclosed no potential conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise.
Implementing night shift naps for nurses can reduce sleepiness and drowsy driving. Overcoming nurse managers
Area of Science:
- Nursing
- Sleep Science
- Occupational Health
Background:
- Night shift nurses frequently experience significant sleepiness.
- Napping is an established countermeasure for sleepiness in other safety-critical fields.
- Widespread acceptance of napping among nurses remains limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify barriers to implementing successful night shift naps for nurses.
- To document the experiences of night shift nurses who participated in napping.
Main Methods:
- A pilot project was conducted across two hospitals, offering night shift naps on six nursing units.
- Approval was obtained from executive nursing leadership and unit nurse managers.
- A nap experience form, including the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale, and interviews were used to collect data.
Main Results:
- Successful nap implementation occurred on only one of the six units; partial success on a second.
- Barriers were primarily encountered when seeking approval from unit nurse managers.
- Napping nurses reported reduced sleepiness and less drowsy driving post-shift, with high perceived helpfulness.
Conclusions:
- Night shift napping is feasible and can mitigate workplace sleepiness and drowsy driving when implementation barriers are addressed.
- Addressing nurse managers' perceptions and concerns is crucial for successful napping program implementation.
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