title: Are we really doing what is best for our tiny patients? NNP shift length and patient safety: our time has come.
abstract: In the United States, 20% to 30% of the employed population does shift work. Neonatal nurse practitioners are a part of this group. Yet, there are no guidelines in place regarding shift length. Fatigue among shift workers is well documented and carries risks to both patients and health care providers. It is crucial to analyze this problem so that the neonatal nurse practitioner profession can move forward with establishing guidelines for practice; so safe, quality care to patients is assured and the health as well as the role satisfaction of the neonatal nurse practitioner is optimized.
authors: The Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. donna_losasso@baylor.edu
authors: Donna M
authors: DM
authors: Losasso
mesh_terms: D005221:Fatigue / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D019300:Medical Errors / Q000517:prevention & control; D017283:Neonatal Nursing / Q000592:standards*; D009722:Nurse Practitioners / Q000592:standards*; D012956:Societies, Nursing; D014481:United States; D014940:Work Schedule Tolerance; D000078329:Workforce; D016526:Workload / Q000523:psychology