The effect of working serial night shifts on the cognitive functioning of emergency physicians

Dula, David J.; Dula, Nora L.; Hamrick, Clinton; Wood, G. Craig

doi:10.1067/mem.2001.116024

Cited by 101 publications

(64 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Moreover, heart rate abnormalities more often occurred following a 24-hour shift 16) . Previous studies point at a possible impact of night shifts and related stress on neurocognitive performance in physicians 17,18) . However, it remains unclear if changes in physicians' schedules affect the wellbeing of health-care workers and patients' outcomes.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

No stress after 24‐hour on‐call shifts?

Harbeck

Suefke

Haas

et al. 2015

Journal of Occupational Health

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No stress after 24-hour on-call shifts? : Birgit HARBECK, et al. Department of Medicine I, University of Luebeck, Germany-Objectives: Irregular sleep patterns can adversely affect physiological functions and have been associated with increased physiological and psychological stress. Nocturnal work of physicians during 24-hour on-call shifts (OCS) disrupts the sleep/wake cycle. Chronic exposure to distress has been shown to affect cardiovascular homeostasis and to impair performance in neurocognitive and simulated clinical tasks. Methods: In a prospective cohort study, biochemical and physiological stress parameters were assessed in 11 female and 9 male physicians (median age: 32 years, range 26−42 years) before a normal working day and after a 24-hour OCS in internal medicine. In addition, various tests of attentional performance (TAP) were conducted. Results: The levels of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) were significantly higher after a 24-hour OCS, while there were no significant changes in cortisol, epinephrine, and norepinephrine levels. Heart rate variability and skin resistance increased following an OCS, although the differences were not statistically significant. Intrinsic alertness was comparable, while phasic alertness was significantly improved following a 24-hour OCS. Focused attention tended to be better following a night shift. There was no correlation with age or medical working experience; however, men experienced more stress than women. Conclusions: Following a 24-hour OCS, (i) TSH may be an early and sensitive biochemical predictor of stress; (ii) other classical biochemical stress parameters do not depict the psychological stress perceived by physicians; (iii) there may be a mismatch between experienced and objective stress levels; (iv) neurocognitive functions are not impaired, while performance may even be improved; and (v) men might be more sensitive to distress.

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confidence: 99%

No stress after 24‐hour on‐call shifts?

Harbeck

Suefke

Haas

et al. 2015

Journal of Occupational Health

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“…4 Although this investigation could not distinguish whether the defect was in cognition or in motivation, the findings are nevertheless concerning. Equally worrying is another American study 5 which found that doctors working at night reported falling asleep at the wheel significantly more often than those working by day (49% vs 13%; p <0.001).…”

mentioning

confidence: 76%

Sleep, performance and the European Working Time Directive

Douglas

2005

Clinical Medicine

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“…There was a significant effect for day with a general increase in score over time. Dula, Dula, Hamrick, and Wood (2001) reported significantly higher scores on the Kaufman Adolescent and Adult Intelligence Test for eight emergency medicine residents working day shifts compared to eight working five consecutive night shifts. Deaconson et al (1988) evaluated the performance of 26 surgical residents over a 19-day period.…”

Section: Medicinementioning

confidence: 99%

Summary of the Performance Effects of Sustained Operations

Gawron¹

2015

Journal of Human Performance in Extreme Environments

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The effect of working serial night shifts on the cognitive functioning of emergency physicians

Cited by 101 publications

References 19 publications

No stress after 24‐hour on‐call shifts?

No stress after 24‐hour on‐call shifts?

Sleep, performance and the European Working Time Directive

Summary of the Performance Effects of Sustained Operations

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