TY - JOUR
T1 - The emotional impact of medical errors on practicing physicians in the United States and Canada
AU - Waterman, Amy D.
AU - Garbutt, Jane
AU - Hazel, Erik
AU - Dunagan, William Claiborne
AU - Levinson, Wendy
AU - Fraser, Victoria J.
AU - Gallagher, Thomas H.
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding for this study was provided by AHRQ grants ( 1U18HS11890 , 1K08HS0140201 ), and the Greenwall Foundation Faculty Scholars Program. Funding sources had no active role in this study other than providing financial aid. The authors would like to thank Alison Ebers, Melissa Krauss, and Kerry Bommarito for their assistance in the preparation of the Web-based survey instrument, physician recruitment, and data entry; Brian Waterman, M.P.H., of Waterman Research Solutions, Julie M. Krygiel-Kapp, M.P.H., Ph.D., University of Missouri, and Thomas Burroughs, Ph.D., Saint Louis University, for expert statistical assistance and review of the manuscript; and Barb Caleca, Jaime Zacharias, and Jackie Gilliland for the design of the “Support our Staff” physician counseling program for BJC HealthCare based on this study’s findings.
PY - 2007/8
Y1 - 2007/8
N2 - Background: Being involved in medical errors can compound the job-related stress many physicians experience. The impact of errors on physicians was examined. Methods: A survey completed by 3,171 of the 4,990 eligible physicians in internal medicine, pediatrics, family medicine, and surgery (64% response rate) examined how errors affected five work and life domains. Results: Physicians reported increased anxiety about future errors (61%), loss of confidence (44%), sleeping difficulties (42%), reduced job satisfaction (42%), and harm to their reputation (13%) following errors. Physicians' job-related stress increased when they had been involved with a serious error. However, one third of physicians only involved with near misses also reported increased stress. Physicians were more likely to be distressed after serious errors when they were dissatisfied with error disclosure to patients (odds ratio [OR] = 3.86, confidence interval [CI] = 1.66, 9.00), perceived a greater risk of being sued (OR = .28, CI = 1.50, 3.48), spent greater than 75% time in clinical practice (OR = 2.20, CI = 1.60, 3.01), or were female (OR = 1.91, CI = 1.21, 3.02). Only 10% agreed that health care organizations adequately supported them in coping with error-related stress. Discussion: Many physicians experience significant emotional distress and job-related stress following serious errors and near misses. Organizational resources to support physicans after errors should be improved.
AB - Background: Being involved in medical errors can compound the job-related stress many physicians experience. The impact of errors on physicians was examined. Methods: A survey completed by 3,171 of the 4,990 eligible physicians in internal medicine, pediatrics, family medicine, and surgery (64% response rate) examined how errors affected five work and life domains. Results: Physicians reported increased anxiety about future errors (61%), loss of confidence (44%), sleeping difficulties (42%), reduced job satisfaction (42%), and harm to their reputation (13%) following errors. Physicians' job-related stress increased when they had been involved with a serious error. However, one third of physicians only involved with near misses also reported increased stress. Physicians were more likely to be distressed after serious errors when they were dissatisfied with error disclosure to patients (odds ratio [OR] = 3.86, confidence interval [CI] = 1.66, 9.00), perceived a greater risk of being sued (OR = .28, CI = 1.50, 3.48), spent greater than 75% time in clinical practice (OR = 2.20, CI = 1.60, 3.01), or were female (OR = 1.91, CI = 1.21, 3.02). Only 10% agreed that health care organizations adequately supported them in coping with error-related stress. Discussion: Many physicians experience significant emotional distress and job-related stress following serious errors and near misses. Organizational resources to support physicans after errors should be improved.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=34547612347&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/S1553-7250(07)33050-X
DO - 10.1016/S1553-7250(07)33050-X
M3 - Article
C2 - 17724943
AN - SCOPUS:34547612347
SN - 1553-7250
VL - 33
SP - 467
EP - 476
JO - Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety
JF - Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety
IS - 8
ER -