The purpose of this study is to determine whether reducing intern work hours and eliminating extended shifts in the intensive care unit will reduce prescribing errors and improve intern well-being.
Each intern enrolled will complete three 4-week rotations in the intensive care unit (ICU) at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center. Each intern will complete at least one traditional schedule and one intervention schedule. The traditional schedule consists of an 80-hour work week with overnight call every third night. The longest shift on the traditional schedule is 30 hours. The intervention schedule consists of a 60-hour work week which eliminates overnight call by assigning a variety of shifts ranging from 8 to 16 hours in length.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
22
Interns on the intervention schedule work an average of 60 hours per week over 4 weeks, with maximum shift length 16 hours.
Providence St. Vincent Medical Center Intensive Care Unit
Portland, Oregon, United States
Multiple Sleep Latency Test
Time frame: Measured once a month for each intern while on ICU rotation, at least 14 days into the scheduled 28 day cycle
Hours slept per night measured by actigraphy
Time frame: Daily
Pharmaceutical order error rate
Time frame: Daily
Burnout measured by Maslach Burnout Inventory
Time frame: Measured once per month for each intern while on ICU rotation, at least 14 days into the 28 day rotation
Beck Depression Inventory, Second Edition (BDI-II)
Time frame: Measured once per month for each intern while on ICU rotation, at least 14 days into the 28 day rotation
Hours worked per shift on the traditional and intervention schedules
Time frame: Daily
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