Medical Brief 275 - 17 Oct 2019
"Over a third of both doctors and dentists suspect that emotional exhaustion has contributed to a clinical error, according to a Medical Protection Society (MPS) survey. MPS’s survey findings were revealed at its Ethics for All conference.
The survey of over 450 doctors and 147 dentists, found: 60% of doctors, and 61% of dentists, experience a decreasing sense of personal wellbeing; 37% of doctors suspect that emotional exhaustion has at some point contributed to an irreversible clinical error, with 60% saying this was related to a lack of concentration; 31% of dentists suspect that emotional exhaustion has at some point contributed to an irreversible clinical error, with 43% saying this was related to a lack of concentration; and 47% of doctors, and 44% of dentists, often or always start the working day feeling tired.
The findings follow short on the heels of a study that found that more than that 80% registrars at the University of the Witwatersrand‘s School of Clinical Medicine suffer from burnout, a response to prolonged stress, with “extremely high” levels of depersonalisation, affecting professional response to patients."
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