title: Night and day in the VA: associations between night shift staffing, nurse workforce characteristics, and length of stay.
abstract: In hospitals, nurses provide patient care around the clock, but the impact of night staff characteristics on patient outcomes is not well understood. The aim of this study was to examine the association between night nurse staffing and workforce characteristics and the length of stay (LOS) in 138 veterans affairs (VA) hospitals using panel data from 2002 through 2006. Staffing in hours per patient day was higher during the day than at night. The day nurse workforce had more educational preparation than the night workforce. Nurses' years of experience at the unit, facility, and VA level were greater at night. In multivariable analyses controlling for confounding variables, higher night staffing and a higher skill mix were associated with reduced LOS.
authors.affiliation: College of Nursing, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 110 Paterson Street, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901.
authors.forename: Pamela B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: de Cordova
authors.forename: Ciaran S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Phibbs
authors.forename: Susan K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Schmitt
authors.forename: Patricia W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Stone
mesh_terms: D006787:Hospitals, Veterans / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010561:Personnel Staffing and Scheduling / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States; D014493:United States Department of Veterans Affairs; D000078329:Workforce
keywords: human capital; length of stay; night shift; nursing workforce; staffing