The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) decides to look at reports of how hospital nurse schedules relate to how frequently incidents occur. They notice that hospitals that have 10-hour shifts for nurses have 26% fewer incidents on average than hospitals that have 12-hour shifts. They reason that a nurse is more tired toward the end of a 12-hour shift. How could this research most benefit patients?
Answer
A
Patients can look for hospitals that have 12-hour shifts.
B
Patients can reduce interactions with a nurse who is near the end of a shift.
C
Nurses may know that they are tired and can try to be more alert.
D
Hospitals may change the shift structure to try to reduce the number of incidents.
Explanation
The research found fewer incidents on average at hospitals with 10-hour shifts, suggesting that shift length may affect patient safety. Hospitals could use this finding to reconsider their schedules and try shorter shifts to reduce incidents. Changing hospital policy is more likely to benefit patients broadly than asking individual patients to avoid nurses near the end of a shift.
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