Both distress and fatigue impact resident physician errors, study finds
September 22, 2009Mayo Clinic researchers report that distress and fatigue among medical residents are independent contributors to self-perceived medical errors. The findings appear today in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
VIDEO ALERT: Additional audio and video resources including excerpts from an interview with Dr. Colin West describing the research are available on the Mayo Clinic News Blog. password MC845.
"We looked at distress and fatigue together and found that both factors can lead to a significant risk of medical error," says Colin West, M.D., Ph.D., Mayo Clinic physician and lead author of the study. "Both fatigue and distress among medical residents represent a potential concern for patient safety."
Previous studies, including a 2006 JAMA article by the same authors, showed that burnout during the physician training process can lead to medical errors. Other studies have suggested resident fatigue also increases the risk of medical errors. Collectively, these studies informed the 2008 Institute of Medicine recommendations that resident work hours be controlled. This new study confirms the previous findings but shows that distress should be addressed as a factor independent of fatigue. Distress can include such factors as burnout, depression, financial issues, family concerns or other emotional stress.
Mayo Clinic Internal Medicine residents were surveyed every three months between July 2003 and February 2009. Standardized survey tools were used to measure burnout, symptoms of depression, sleepiness and fatigue. At quarterly intervals, residents were also asked if they had made a major medical error in the last three months. Of the 430 eligible residents, 88 percent answered at least one survey. Overall, 39 percent of the respondents reported at least one self-perceived major medical error during the study period.
"While changes have been made to reduce fatigue and sleepiness during residency training, other changes may be necessary to more specifically address distress and burnout," says Tait Shanafelt, M.D., Mayo physician and senior author. The researchers say their findings may have implications beyond residency training and suggest that more attention to reducing non-fatigue-related distress among physicians may reduce errors and improve patient safety.
The authors note that the findings are somewhat limited by study size, by the fact the study was conducted at only one institution, and because the survey tool used for symptoms of depression may not allow definitive diagnosis of that condition. They recommend further research be conducted in larger, multi-institution populations to better identify the factors leading to medical errors.
-
Time spent on meaningful pursuits may cut risk of physician burnout
May 25, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Limiting work hours of medical residents could cost $1.6 billion annually, study finds
May 21, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Study: Patients often don't report pain
Feb 13, 2006 |
not rated yet |
0
-
While prevalent, sexual problems in women not always associated with distress
Oct 31, 2008 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Study tackles labeling errors
Oct 06, 2008 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Engineers build first sub-10-nm carbon nanotube transistor
Feb 01, 2012 |
4.9 / 5 (33) |
30
-
Something old, something new: Evolution and the structural divergence of duplicate genes
Jan 31, 2012 |
4.6 / 5 (7) |
1
-
The hidden nanoworld of ice crystals: Revealing the dynamic behavior of quasi-liquid layers
Jan 30, 2012 |
5 / 5 (5) |
1
-
Stock market network reveals investor clustering
Jan 27, 2012 |
3.9 / 5 (23) |
8
-
Of microchemistry and molecules: Electronic microfluidic device synthesizes biocompatible probes
Jan 26, 2012 |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
-
Classical and Quantum Mechanics via Lie algebras
Apr 15, 2011
- More from Physics Forums - Independent Research
More news stories
Researchers make breakthrough in stem cell research
(Medical Xpress) -- University of Queensland scientists have developed a world-first method for producing adult stem cells that will substantially impact patients who have a range of serious diseases.
20 minutes ago |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
|
Georgia Tech develops software for the rapid analysis of foodborne pathogens
2011 brought two of the deadliest bacterial outbreaks the world has seen during the last 25 years. The two epidemics accounted for more than 4,200 cases of infectious disease and 80 deaths. Software developed at Georgia Tech ...
12 minutes ago |
not rated yet |
0
Social psychologist: Lust makes you smarter and evidence that seven deadly sins are good for you
(Medical Xpress) -- Good news for lovers on Valentine’s Day - the seven deadly sins, including Lust, are good for you. University of Melbourne social psychologist Dr Simon Laham uses modern research to make a compelling ...
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
42 minutes ago |
4 / 5 (1) |
0
Couples in the same place emotionally stay together, study says
(Medical Xpress) -- Despite lifes ups and downs, couples whose feelings are in sync consistently over time are more likely to stay together, says a University of California, Davis, study.
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
7 minutes ago |
not rated yet |
0
|
Low levels of amplitude-modulated electromagnetic fields elicit therapeutic responses cancer patients
Ryne Ramaker, a senior UALR Donaghey Scholar and University Science Scholar with a double major in biology and chemistry, is a co-author of a cancer research paper creating excitement among other researchers. The article ...
29 minutes ago |
not rated yet |
0
New molecule has potential to help treat genetic diseases and HIV
(PhysOrg.com) -- Chemists at The University of Texas at Austin have created a molecule that's so good at tangling itself inside the double helix of a DNA sequence that it can stay there for up to 16 days before ...
With climate change, today's '100-year floods' may happen every three to 20 years: research
Last August, Hurricane Irene spun through the Caribbean and parts of the eastern United States, leaving widespread wreckage in its wake. The Category 3 storm whipped up water levels, generating storm surges ...
The joy of cheques
An electronic cheque which eliminates the need for costly processing by banks but preserves the simplicity and ease of a traditional cheque book has been designed by a team of academics in the UK.
Research shows promise in converting camelina oil into jet fuel
(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at Montana State University-Northern have developed a process to convert camelina oil to jet fuel and other high-value chemicals. MSU has applied for a U.S. patent and research is ongoing.
Omega-3 fatty acid on trial: Study to evaluate long-term effects on intelligence, behavior
University of Kansas researchers John Colombo and Susan Carlson have been awarded $2.5 million for the next five years of a 10-year, double-blind randomized controlled trial to determine whether prenatal nutritional supplementation ...
Research finds injuries to professional athletes from routine play or practice often reported as 'freak accidents' in me
(Medical Xpress) -- A new report from the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy finds injuries to professional athletes from routine play or practice are often characterized as freak accidents in ...