Emergency medicine Personnel's preparation, performance and perception of their night shifts: a cross-sectional study from Saudi Arabia
Open accessAbstract
PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate the perceptions and habits of different emergency department (ED) workers (nurses, residents, and attending physicians) and their pre- or post-shift routines. The study also examined the effect of night shifts on personal life, social life, and health. PATIENTS AND METHODS: An anonymous, online, cross-sectional, multiple-choice, self-rating (5-point Likert scale) survey was administered to the participants. All analyses were performed using the SPSS version 22.0. Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of King Saud University Medical City (KSUMC) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. RESULTS: Thirty-three nurses, 51 residents, and 39 attending physicians participated in the survey (response rates of 21%, 100%, and 100%, respectively). A significant difference was noted in the need to use physical sleeping aids between the three groups (P < 0.003), with more nurses using humidifiers as a sleeping aid (21.2%) than residents or attending physicians. However, there was no difference in the use of pharmacological aids between the three groups. All groups utilized coffee as the preferred stimulant, especially residents (76.5%, P <0.032). Nurses and attending physicians wake up 2 hours before their shift, while residents prefer 3 hours (P <0.001). Attending physicians reported the highest accident rates post-night shifts of 17.9% (P < 0.001). Residents reported satisfaction while working night shifts and were least in agreement with night shifts reducing life span. Attending physicians were more in agreement with the increasing risk of drug/alcohol misuse and the incidence of depression in relation to night shifts. CONCLUSION: Participants shared many commonalities, yet residents were less likely to use sleeping aids and enjoy night shifts more than the other groups. All groups consumed coffee for stimulation. Attending physicians reported the highest accident rates post night shifts.
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Long and irregular working hours, irregular sleep schedules, and stress are main drivers associated with sleep disturbances among medical doctors.
“research has identified long and irregular working hours, irregular sleep schedules (52, 60, 61) and stress (48, 54, 58, 59, 62–64) as main drivers associated with sleep disturbances.”
From Sleep disturbances and psychological well-being among military medical doctors of the Swiss Armed Forces: study protocol, rationale and development of a cross-sectional and longitudinal interventional study (2024) · cites this paper as [61]
The Introduction links repeated night shifts with disrupted circadian rhythms and poor sleep, and the Discussion says switching between day and night shifts leads to abnormal sleep patterns. The paper does not identify long working hours or stress as main drivers of sleep disturbances; it discusses stress mainly as an experience of residents adapting to shift work. The indexed passages provide no page numbers. (LLM, conf=0.83)
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Sadeghi-Bahmani, D., Rigotti, V., Stanga, Z., Lang, U. E., Blais, R. K., Kelley, M. L., & Brand, S. (2024) · Frontiers in Public Health · doi:10.3389/fpubh.2024.1390636 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
- Authors
- Alaska, Y. A., AlYahya, B., AlFakhri, L., AlHarbi, B., Alkattan, F., & Alhayaza, R. M.
- Affiliations
- King Saud University (SA)
- Alfaisal University (SA)
- Corresponding author
- Alaska, Yasser A
- AlYahya, Bader
- Venue
- Advances in Medical Education and Practice
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2022-02
- Volume
- Volume 13
- Pages
- 167-175
- ISSN
- 1179-7258 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC8881674
- OpenAlex
- W4213026594
- Cited by
- 5
- References
- 27
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 2
- FWCI
- 1.15
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Advances in Medical Education and Practice (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and Work-Related Fatigue
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Emergency Medicine › Hospital Admissions and Outcomes
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Healthcare professionals’ stress and burnout
- Keywords
- night shift work, emergency department staff, nurses, medical residents, attending physicians, shift work, sleep aids, coffee consumption, work-life balance, occupational health, depression risk, alcohol and drug abuse, Saudi Arabia
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