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Shift length, time of day and workload were three factors Amy Friend took into consideration while trying to answer the question: "What toll does fatigue take on pharmacists working 12-hour shifts?"
Through the Research Experience for Undergraduates program funded by the National Science Foundation, Friend was able to conduct her research. As a pharmacy cashier, the Ogden resident was aware of the fatigue onset by the usual 12-hour shifts. She decided to measure the toll fatigue took on pharmacists by evaluating two technicians and three pharmacists.
"I tested three different areas. I tested the time of day and the shift of the week and how many prescriptions they had filled throughout the day. Then I tested that against their cognitive fatigue, perceived fatigue, and two tests of physiological fatigue," Friend said. "So I did an ocular reading which tracks how fast their eyes respond and body temperature to get their circadian rhythm throughout the day. They were all significant. The one that had the highest effect was the number of prescriptions that they filled throughout the day; it had a large effect on their cognitive performance."
The potential for mistakes to occur was the largest finding, though she feels that with a larger test group, the results could differ.
Last month, Friend was one of the 74 students from the 700 applicants chosen to attend the annual Undergraduate Research Posters on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. She was the only representative for Utah this year.
Friend said the experience was "Great. I got to meet with some of the senators and representatives of Utah. That was nice and it put the word in to keep supporting undergraduate research. I think that was really important."
Research Posters is an annual event in which applicants are chosen to set up a poster of their research. "It's kind of like a science fair and people walk around and look at it," Friend said. "They either have specific questions or just walk up and say 'tell me about your research' and then you have this spiel you give them."
Friend will be going to graduate school for Clinical Psychology, so her research may be put on the back burner, but she hopes that with her research, employers will become aware of the toll 12-hour shifts can take and find countermeasures.
Friend suggests mental exercises, more staff and a system where pharmacists can have more time to council their patients. She remembered one student at Research Posters studied the effects of light visors and showed that people are less fatigued when using them.