Document Type
Poster
Associated Faculty
Sarah Hanscome, MSN, RN
Sponsoring Academic Department
School of Nursing
Publication Date
2025
Abstract/ Summary
Medication errors remain a critical concern in nursing practice, compromising patient safety. Nurses often work long shifts that contribute to fatigue, reduced alertness, and impaired concentration, increasing the likelihood of errors. The literature review examines the purpose of the study, that consuming scheduled caffeine throughout a shift, compared to no caffeine intake, improves nurses' alertness and reduces medication errors. A literature search was conducted using CINAHL, PubMed, and Nursing Guide. Inclusion criteria were English-language articles published between 2006 and 2025, focusing on nurses’ alertness, fatigue, or medication error outcomes. Exclusion criteria included studies not focused on nurses, non-English publications, articles published before 2006, and studies unrelated to cognitive performance or medication outcomes. After screening the initial resources, ten studies were included. Across the ten included studies, evidence consistently demonstrates that scheduled caffeine intake improves vigilance, cognitive function, and overall alertness in nursing staff. Findings on whether caffeine alone reduces medication errors were mixed. Several studies recommended that caffeine, in combination with rest breaks, hydration, and other fatigue management strategies, would be more useful in reducing medication errors and improving alertness. Scheduled caffeine appears to be a practical, low-cost intervention to support nurse performance and patient safety, though further research is needed to confirm its direct impact on medication error reduction.
Repository Citation
Witte, Lauren E.; Spence, Parker; and Hooper, Lainie, "The Impact of Scheduled Caffeine Consumption on Nurses’ Alertness and Medication Error Reduction" (2025). Non-Thesis Student Work. 101.
https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/student_work/101
Version
other
Poster