Covert and Overt Residents` Sustained Attention Impairement Following Extended Shift

Extended shift-duration and resident`s work schedules are assumed to alter cognitive performance such as attention, leading to medical errors.
In the current study we evaluated the effects of shift duration and type of medical internship on resident`s performance by two quantitative measures of overt (Test of Variable Attention; TOVA) and covert (Auditory Sustained Attention Test ; ASAT) attention, as well as measures of arousal response levels.
We found that 24 hour shifts increased omission and commission errors, reaction time and the variability of response time in TOVA as well as decreased ASAT levels. However, a detectable difference between the various departments was demonstrated only by the ASAT.
We conclude that the traditional working schedule of hospital residents should be reconsidered in order to reduce medical errors.