Nurse Fatigue and Its Influence on Decision-Making Accuracy and Work Performance among Operating Room Nurses

Abstract

Nurse fatigue among operating room (OR) nurses may influence decision-making accuracy and work performance by affecting cognitive functioning, efficiency, and the delivery of safe patient care in high-pressure clinical environments. This study examined the levels of nurse fatigue, decision-making accuracy, and work performance, as well as their relationships among 120 OR nurses from two government hospitals in Misamis Occidental, Philippines, using a descriptive-correlational research design. Data were gathered through a researcher-developed questionnaire and analyzed using mean, standard deviation, and Pearson’s r. Findings revealed that OR nurses experienced severe nurse fatigue, very high decision-making accuracy, and excellent work performance. Results further showed that nurse fatigue had generally no significant relationship with decision-making accuracy, except for a significant relationship between physical fatigue and clinical judgment accuracy. In terms of work performance, nurse fatigue showed selective significant relationships, particularly between physical and mental fatigue and efficiency and productivity, while most other relationships were not significant. It is concluded that despite high levels of fatigue, nurses maintained strong decision-making accuracy and overall performance, although fatigue had some influence on efficiency-related outcomes. Therefore, it is recommended that hospital administrators and nursing managers implement targeted fatigue management strategies, such as adequate staffing, regulated workloads, and structured rest periods, while continuing professional development initiatives to sustain and enhance nurses’ performance and the quality of patient care.