Background: Decision regret is a negative cognitive emotion associated with experiences of guilt and
situations of interpersonal harm. These negative affective responses may contribute to emotional
exhaustion in critical care nurses (CCNs), increased staff turnover rates and high medication error rates.
Yet, little is known about clinical decision regret among CCNs or the conditions or situations (e.g., feeling
sleepy) that may precipitate its occurrence.
Objectives: To examine decision regret among CCNs, with an emphasis on clinical decisions made when
nurses were most sleepy.
Methods: A content analytic approach was used to examine the narrative descriptions of clinical decisions
by CCNs when sleepy.
Results: Six decision regret themes emerged that represented deviations in practice or performance
behaviors that were attributed to fatigued CCNs.
Conclusion: While 157 CCNs disclosed a clinical decision they made at work while sleepy, the prevalence
may be underestimated and warrants further investigation.