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Long shifts increase medication error risk

LTC Liability Monitor, July 8, 2004

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing confirm nurses working long shifts are more likely to make medication errors, reported the Boston Globe.

The study, published yesterday in Health Affairs, found that nurses who worked shifts of 12.5 or more hours were three times as likely to make errors such as administering the wrong medicines or doses to their patients.

Nurses who worked less than 8.5 hours committed errors on only 1.6% of their shifts, while nurses who worked 12.5 hours or more made errors on 5% of their shifts.

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