14 DAY TRIAL // According to a new paper published in the latest issue of the International Journal of Behavioral and Healthcare Research, the more tired resident physicians in learning hospitals are, the more likely they are to make a mistake. This may sound like stating the obvious, but clear scientific data are required before measures can be implemented from a higher level down to counteracting the causes of these phenomena, AlphaGalileo says.
The report was compiled by investigators at the Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, in Jerusalem, Israel, led by scientist Zvi Stern. The majority of in-patient medical care in large, learning hospitals is provided by residents, which means that their level of alertness and ability to discern between possible medical conditions quickly and accurately could be a decisive factor in saving or losing lives.
Before people go criticizing the doctors, it's worth mentioning that no one can deny some simple facts about being a resident – the work is extremely intense, comes with overwhelming responsibilities, and requires long hours. Residents get to sleep only a few hours per night, and often go on shifts longer than 24 hours in one go. In fact, previous researches have identified sleep deprivation as the main cause of residents' mistakes in all surveyed learning hospitals.
The new review, carried out on some 126 resident physicians from two hospitals, was based on reports by senior nurses about the performances of the participants. The Israeli team proposes that standardization of work hours and chores may be an effective way of drastically cutting down the number of mistakes done by residents while being extremely tired. The recently introduced guidelines, which reduce the number of work hours, still prove to have little effects, the team also adds in the paper.
“Standardization does not allow the shortcuts or confusion that fatigue might produce because it prevents residents from concentrating on one option only. It forces residents to work 'by the book' and follow predetermined treatment options,” Stern concludes.