Any resident around prior to 2011 remembers the 30-hour shifts, the groggy fatigue as patients blurred buy. Did mistakes happen? Yes, at such an alarming rate that they changed the rules. But sleep deprivation is a badge of honor physicians wear into their post-graduate lives. They can “suck it up” they can be “more than human.”
Our latest poll backs these numbers up pretty strongly. When asked what the average amount of sleep our Sermo physicians got regularly they answered …
- 59% 5 to 7 hours
- 28% 7 to 8 hours
- 8% under 5 hours
- 5% over 8 hours
It will surprise no one that 67% of respondents get seven hours of sleep or less per night.
Physicians and Fatigue Errors
The numbers do take a toll both on the physician and on their patients. While most people assume the worst is over with residency, the truth is a lot of physicians are shift workers. Office hours for an ophthalmologist might be routine but an obstetrician or ER doc can hardly claim that.
According to Dr. Michael J. Breus in a HuffPo article, “research has shown that doctors, like the rest of us, aren’t great at accurately assessing their own levels of tiredness.”
Some stats …
- Surgical complications increase when attending surgeons have less than six hours between a final evening procedure and the first morning procedure the next day.
- Interns who worked five or more extended-duration shifts a month reported a 300% increase in preventable errors.
- Residents were 22% more likely to commit medical errors when sleep deprived.
Solutions
This challenge has been discussed within the medical community for years and there are some solutions out there …
- Schedule shift work to move ahead, not fall back on the clock. This is easier for the body to adjust to.
- Schedule shorter shifts to decrease medical errors.
- Allow generous vacation time so physicians have the chance to rest and recharge their batteries.
- Teach doctors, literally, how to sleep. Give them protocol during medical school to help them rest fully whenever they’re able.
As a medical professional how do you feel about sleep deprivation? Have you ever seen any policies in place that helped physicians get more sleep? Do you think the old school way of 30-hour shifts is still the way to go? This will be discussed in detail inside Sermo, if you’re an M.D. or D.O. we’d love to have you join us.
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