Imagine you have been up all night, caring for a newborn. You are sleepy, yet need to remain alert. At 6 a.m., you sit down to feed and burp the precious new life. You begin to feel drowsy as you take in the aroma of the newborn.

Next thing you know, the infant has fallen to the ground out of your grasp.

Sound ridiculous? Unfortunately, this is not a piece of fiction, but a sad event that happened recently to a 30-year veteran nurse in Pennsylvania during a long overnight shift.

Although the infant initially appeared to have no injuries, he was still cautiously transferred to a children's hospital where he was found to have a skull fracture and some bleeding. The family contacted the local police department to report the injury.

Uniontown Hospital is continuing its investigation, however, at this time has not terminated the nurse. The hospital released a statement expressing "support for the nurse involved in the incident, recognizing her dedication to her job and anguish she is suffering." They are continuing to gather information for their investigation.

Long work hours are nothing new to nurses and healthcare workers. The especially trying overnight hours can contribute to significant fatigue and a lack of stamina among the staff.

A 2011 Joint Commission Sentinel Event Alert focused on the issue of healthcare worker fatigue and patient safety. They cited multiple studies that demonstrate "fatigue increases the risk of adverse events, compromises patient safety and increases risk to personal safety and well-being."

Although it is clear that fatigue can lead to patient safety issue, little is being done in the healthcare world to address the problem. Some of the suggestions from The Joint Commission include assessing consecutive work schedules to allow sufficient rest days and fatigue-management plans, which include incorporating physical activities and taking short naps.

The idea of naps at work has been a taboo subject for years, especially in the American culture. "Sleeping on the job" is usually associated with immediate termination. However, considering the literature, this attitude may need to change.

The idea of workplace "power naps" is not a new concept. In fact, nap rooms have been implemented by many different industries from finance to transportation.

Having sleep rooms for healthcare workers is not a novelty either — physicians who have long on-call shifts at the hospital are provided a place to rest in between patient care rounds.

The hospital of the future may also have rooms for the staff to take quiet rests. The proposed 2014 Guidelines for Design and Construction of Hospitals and Outpatient Facilities, released by the Facility Guidelines Institute, recognized the need for quiet rest rooms for the prevention of fatigue, especially for overnight shift workers. They recommend that a quiet room be closely located on the unit and free of interruptions and noises.

Although healthcare prides itself on providing evidence-based care to its patients, it often fails to implement that knowledge on the healthcare workers themselves. The idea of fatigue and its risk to patient safety is well accepted. However, now is the time to accept that the evidence also supports good self-care for the healthcare workers also — including a short power nap to increase cognitive functioning and alertness.

The details of the unfortunate accident may never be fully revealed, however, it hopefully will shed some light on the challenges faced by shift workers, especially in healthcare. This may be the perfect opportunity to get the conversation started for solutions and prevention, rather than reactions and finger pointing.