Study Shows Surgical Errors Related to Mental Stress, Burnout
A new study by the Mayo Clinic shows that major medical errors by surgeons are strongly connected to mental distress, depression and burnout. The study included the participation of 7,905 surgeons, out of which 700 reported making major medical errors recently. There were some startling facts revealed in the study.
- Close to 9 percent of surgeons had made a “major” error in the three months before the survey.
- More than 70 percent of the surgeons attributed these errors to internal factors, and not systemic or organizational causes.
- Symptoms of burnout including emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, as well as the surgeon’s mental quality of life, were closely linked to these errors.
According to the study’s authors, the research indicates that a surgeon’s mental state of mind may have a close bearing on the quality of care he can offer patients. However, there seems to be no link between the number of medical errors and the number of hours the surgeon worked, number of days on call per week, compensation method or work setting. This means that, according to the survey at least, reducing the number of work hours for surgeons may not have much impact on lowering mental stress. However, since the study was based on self reporting by surgeons, we can assume the findings are fairly limited.
It is definitely of concern that these errors also effect the surgeon and his level of confidence. The Mayo Clinic researchers revealed that a surgeon can experience anguish and depression due to his/her errors, and the negative feelings can continue for years. This only places the surgeon’s future patients at risk from more medical errors.
As an Atlanta medical malpractice lawyer, I am greatly concerned about these surgical errors, because these involve invasive techniques, and can have a lasting impact on a patient’s health and quality of life post-surgery. Rather than discussing tort reform, we should be analyzing ways that surgeons can deal with burnout and emotional distress, so they can take better care of their patients.
