Addressing Occupational Fatigue in Nurses: Current State of Fatigue Risk Management in Hospitals, Part 1.

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Healthcare Management
• Occupational Health

Background:

• Nurse fatigue is a significant concern with known sources and consequences.
• The current status of fatigue risk management systems (FRMS) in hospitals remains largely unexplored.
• Existing research has not adequately detailed the implementation of FRMS in healthcare settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the current state of fatigue risk management systems (FRMS) in US hospitals.
• To identify the extent to which formal FRMS are in place to manage nurse fatigue.
• To highlight opportunities for improving fatigue management in nursing.

Main Methods:

• A sequential exploratory mixed-method design was employed.
• Surveys were administered to nurse leaders across the United States.
• Data collection focused on the current practices of fatigue risk management.

Main Results:

• Most surveyed healthcare organizations have not implemented a formal fatigue risk management system (FRMS).
• Strategies to address fatigue exist, but formal systems are uncommon.
• The monitoring of individual nurse fatigue levels and predictive fatigue risk tools are rarely utilized.

Conclusions:

• There are substantial opportunities for the implementation of formal FRMS in healthcare settings.
• Nursing leaders should collaborate with organizational leaders to create formal plans for fatigue monitoring.
• Interventions should be multi-leveled to prevent fatigue and reduce its adverse effects.