Background: Emergency doctors face a highly stressful work environment during night shifts. Long-term night shift work can lead to sleep deprivation, fatigue accumulation, and disruption of the biological clock, which may affect doctors' work efficiency and physical and mental health. There are various health interventions for night shift doctors, one of which is an interesting practice of carrying an apple as a symbol of the "night shift deity" to relieve anxiety and improve work efficiency. Although this behavior is not supported by sufficient scientific evidence, it has become a common habit among some doctors during night shifts due to its simplicity, low risk, and ritualistic nature. Objective: To assess whether carrying an apple during night shifts can significantly reduce fatigue, decrease work intensity, and enhance work experience for emergency doctors. Design: Single-center, open-label, randomized controlled trial. Participants: several doctors with a total of 60 emergency working night shifts. Primary Outcome: Average number of patients per night shift. Sample Size: The study plans to recruit several doctors with a total of 60 emergency night shifts and randomly assign them to the experimental group and the control group. One doctor can be randomized for many times.
Background: Emergency doctors face a highly stressful work environment during night shifts. Long-term night shift work can lead to sleep deprivation, fatigue accumulation, and disruption of the biological clock, which may affect doctors' work efficiency and physical and mental health. There are various health interventions for night shift doctors, one of which is an interesting practice of carrying an apple as a symbol of the "night shift deity" to relieve anxiety and improve work efficiency. Although this behavior is not supported by sufficient scientific evidence, it has become a common habit among some doctors during night shifts due to its simplicity, low risk, and ritualistic nature. Objective: To assess whether carrying an apple during night shifts can significantly reduce fatigue, decrease work intensity, and enhance work experience for emergency doctors. Design: Single-center, open-label, randomized controlled trial. Participants: several doctors with a total of 60 emergency working night shifts. Primary Outcome: Average number of patients per night shift. Sample Size: The study plans to recruit several doctors with a total of 60 emergency night shifts and randomly assign them to the experimental group and the control group. One doctor can be randomized for many times.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
60
Doctors will bring apples during night shift
No apples during night shift
number of patients
Number of patients during the night shift
Time frame: from 5pm on the Randomization day to 8am on the next day
Evaluation of night shifts
Overall evaluation of night shifts by doctors (Good, Average, Poor)
Time frame: from 5pm on the Randomization day to 8am on the next day
Emergency admissions
Admissions of emergency patients during the night shift randomized.
Time frame: from 5pm on the Randomization day to 8am on the next day
Emergency surgery number
Number of patients who experience emergency surgery during the night shift.
Time frame: from 5pm on the Randomization day to 8am on the next day
Emergency uterine evacuation number
Number of patients who need emergency uterine evacuation during the night shift.
Time frame: from 5pm on the Randomization day to 8am on the next day
Complicated patients number
The number of patients needs to be checked by a senior doctor
Time frame: from 5pm on the Randomization day to 8am on the next day
Doctor's break time
The time (hours) of the doctor's break.
Time frame: from 5pm on the Randomization day to 8am on the next day
Number of patients admitted to emergency room
The number of people who need to be admitted to the emergency room
Time frame: from 5pm on the Randomization day to 8am on the next day
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