ROCHESTER, Minn., Nov 30, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Medical errors self-reported
by U.S. surgeons are strongly related to both burnout and depression,
researchers found.
In a study that promised confidentiality, nearly 9 percent of U.S. surgeons
responding said they made a major error in the three months prior to being
surveyed.
The study, published online in the Annals of Surgery, found more than 70 percent
of the surgeons attributed the error to themselves rather than a systemic or
organizational cause.
Lead author Dr. Tait Shanafelt of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and
colleagues at Johns Hopkins and the American College of Surgeons, said the
results showed the components of surgeon burnout -- emotional exhaustion,
depersonalization and the perception of personal accomplishments -- were related
to medical errors as was surgeons' "mental quality of life" including
depression.
Of the 7,905 surgeons participating in the survey, 8.9 percent reported making
recent medical errors they considered major. The researchers said they found no
relation between errors and the work setting, method of compensation, number of
nights on call per week or number of hours worked.
The finding suggests reducing work hours for surgeons may have little impact on
limiting errors unless burnout is also addressed, the researchers said.
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