12 Hour Shifts Are Killing Patients
- Throughout history it has been known that longer shifts pose an increased risk for medical errors.
- In 2017, a nurse at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, RaDonda Vaught, made a medical error that would cause her to lose her job, her license, and require her to go to court.
- According to the article, titled “Ex-nurse sentenced to probation in patient medication death,” Vaught accidentally “injected the paralyzing drug vecuronium instead of the sedative Versed into 75-year-old Charlene Murphey.” This error occurred as Vaught was dealing with multiple patients, teaching a nursing student, and going through a long shift.
- According to the article “The Chilling Fate of the Nurse Who Accidentally Killed a Patient,” the author, Vishal Khetpal, states, “The real issue here seems to be the conditions at work that caused her to grab vecuronium instead of Versed in the first place.”
- In the article, “8 vs 12 Hour Nursing Shifts: Which Is For You?” the NurseTogether Editorial Team states, “Nurses who work the routine shorter 8-hour shifts are less tired and less stressed, which translates to a decrease in errors.”
- Vaught should not have to take full responsibility for this error because of the fault of the healthcare system. We are in desperate need of change. We are all RaDonda Vaught.
https://slate.com/technology/2022/04/radonda-vaught-trial-vanderbilt-nurse-burnout.html