Surgical Residents' Fatigue May Lead to Medical Errors

August 15, 2012

Everyone can imagine that the life of a surgical resident is challenging and tiring. For the first time, lives are in their hands, and they are encountering all kinds of new situations. A recent study has found that surgical residents are in fact very tired, and their fatigue may increase their risk of making medical errors -- possibly putting patients' health or lives in danger.

"Drunk" Doctors

The study, lead by Dr. Frank McCormick of the Harvard Combined Orthopaedic Residency Program and reported in the Archives of Surgery, revealed that residents averaged about five and a half hours of sleep per night. Some residents, however, only got 2.8 hours of sleep.

The study also found that the residents who were not well-rested were functioning at about 70 percent of their capacity for 27 percent of their time awake. Alarmingly, operating at 70 percent capacity is the same as having a 0.08 blood alcohol concentration, the researchers stated. In addition, they said the sleep-deprived residents had about a 22 percent higher chance of making an error or committing medical malpractice.

Targeted Interventions to Reduce Medical Errors

The research is not based on the rate of actual medical errors, so researchers caution that the study does not necessarily show that more errors are committed. During the time the study was conducted, rules were implemented that limit the work hours of surgical residents, but the researchers claimed that this may not be enough to reduce the risk of error.

Instead, the researchers hoped to determine the point during the day at which residents were the most tired. With this information, they can work with professionals to put together interventions to make sure residents stay alert.

Unfortunately, medical errors do happen, regardless of whether the doctor is fatigued or a new resident. Patients injured from a medical error may want to consider contacting a personal injury attorney with experience in medical error cases to discuss any legal claims they may have.

Article provided by Joseph T. Barberi, P.C.
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