A disturbing study in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that \u201cnocturnists\u201d \u2013 hospitalists who specializes in night work \u2013 must be vigilant to ensure patient safety.<\/p>\n
The JAMA study found that hospital patients had a lower rate of surviving cardiac arrest at night than they did if they arrested during the day. The comprehensive study was published in February of 2008, but since then hospitals have responded with creative ideas to close the gap in care.<\/p>\n
Hospital consultant Dr. John Nelson coined the term nocturnist to describe the health care professionals that hospitals are hiring to help improve response times and patient safety. Nelson said the role of a nocturnist has risen sharply in the past decade with as many as 1,500 nocturnists working in hospitals today compared to about 100 only 10 years ago.<\/p>\n
The Institute for Healthcare Improvement hosted a seminar on the subject in December. The IHI brought (more…)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A disturbing study in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that \u201cnocturnists\u201d \u2013 hospitalists who specializes in night work \u2013 must be vigilant to ensure patient safety. The JAMA study found that hospital patients had a lower rate…<\/span><\/p>\n