NURSING FATIGUE2Nursing fatigue is a common phenomenon among nurses and other health careprofessionals working in stressful environment such as acute care centers.Findings from a studyby Stimpfel, Sloane, & Aiken, (2012), shows that nursing fatigue or burnout could negativelyaffect the care quality provided to patients.Clinical QuestionDescribe the ProblemDifferent types of nursing fatigue have been documented, which includes cumulativefatigue, circadian fatigue, and transient fatigue (Sinhaet al., 2013). Voluntary or mandatoryovertime, long working shifts, and rotating shifts are some of the factors that contribute tonursing fatigue. These factors result in burnout that in turn leads to nursing fatigue. Indeed,burnout is a major cause of fatigue among nurses. In the systematic review conducted byAdriaenssens, De Gucht, and Maes (2015) to investigate the prevalence and determinants ofburnout among nurses working in emergency units, it was found that the proportion of nurseswho suffered from burnout was found to be high (26%).Significance of the problem in terms of outcomes or statisticsNursing fatigue compromises the effectiveness of nurses in delivering quality care topatients. Several studies have linked nursing fatigue to a high prevalence of accidents andmedical errors. For example, in a study conducted by Saremi and Fallah (2013) to determine theassociation between subjective fatigue and medical errors among nurses working in aneducational hospital in Iran, medical error was found to be associated with mental fatigue(p<0.05). Other studies have also reported a positive association between nursing fatigue andaccidents. Due to its association with medical errors, nursing fatigue poses a serious threat to
