Hospital-ship watches adapt to casualty pressure

Hayward had only three weeks of intensive-care experience and had not yet treated a patient there, but familiarity with the machinery gave her a starting point. She also had to learn the layout and motion of a large ship while coping with seasickness. The medical team initially organized four-hour watches, but casualty arrivals repeatedly pulled staff back before they had recovered. Changing the watch cycle became an operational response to the tension between continuous care and mounting exhaustion.