Most mistakes happen on the hand-offs, known as "continuity of care", which is both shift-to-shift and phase of care back to health. Longer shifts help with the

Most mistakes happen on the hand-offs, known as "continuity of care", which is both shift-to-shift and phase of care back to health. Longer shifts help with the former at the cost of fatigue-based mistakes, so it is a balancing act, but not as simple as "shorter shifts". The challenge is unlike pilots and truckers the process points when you can naturally terminate a shift are far less defined and predictable. Ex: a pilot who's forced to divert and enter a holding pattern will extend his shift, regardless of the number of hours flown; every hospital shift in an ER is like this.