Skip to main content
. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2013 Nov 1.
Published in final edited form as: Health Aff (Millwood). 2012 Nov;31(11):2501–2509. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2011.1377

EXHIBIT 1.

Characteristics Of Hospitals And Nurses, By Shift Length

Shift length, hours

Characteristic 8–9 10–11 12–13 >13

SIZE OF NURSE POPULATION

Number of nurses 5,677 904 14,370 991
Percent of nurses      26     4       65     5

HOSPITAL CHARACTERISTICSa

High-technology status      23.1%     4.0%       68.6%     4.4%
Teaching status
    Nonteaching      25.2     4.2       66.0     4.6
    Minor teaching      29.0     4.1       62.4     4.4
    Major teaching      19.9     3.8       72.1     4.2
Number of beds
    ≤100      20.8     4.2       69.5     5.6
    101–250      33.0     3.9       58.8     4.3
    >250      23.1     4.2       68.2     4.6

NURSE CHARACTERISTICSb

Mean age, years     44c  46d     42e   43e
Baccalaureate or higher      24.6%     2.0%        67.0%     4.4%
Sex
    Female      26.4     4.2        64.9     4.5
    Male      18.6     3.1        73.7     4.7
Race/ethnicity
    White      27.2     0.5        63.7     0.5
    Black      16.8     0.3        73.7     0.6
    Hispanic/Latino      18.3     0.3        74.4     0.5
Type of unit, last shift
    Medical/surgical      30.4     5.0        60.3     4.4
    Intensive care      14.7     1.7        79.6     4.5

SOURCE Authors’ analysis of data from the American Hospital Association Annual Survey of Hospitals, 2006; and the Multi-State Nursing Care and Patient Safety Study (Note 17 in text), 2005–08.

NOTES High-technology hospitals can perform open heart surgery, major organ transplant surgery, or both. Nonteaching hospitals have no postgraduate medical trainees; minor teaching hospitals are those with ≤1:4 ratios of trainees to beds; major teaching hospitals are those with >1:4 ratios of trainees to beds. Percentages may not sum to 100 because of rounding.

a

Data on characteristics of hospitals (N = 577) are from American Hospital Association Annual Survey of Hospitals, 2006.

b

Data on characteristics of nurses (N = 22, 275) are from the Multi-State Nursing Care and Patient Safety Study, 2005–08.

c

Standard deviation = 14.

d

Standard deviation = 13.

e

Standard deviation = 12.