The Obvious — Yet Damaging — Reason Doctors Have Such Long Shifts
The issue of the long shifts doctors work has always been a constant debate, but the reason for it is entirely selfless, howbeit damaging.
The medical profession is highly revered, and doctors have one of the most tasking and sacred jobs in the world, which is saving lives.
To do this, they work incredibly long hours, with very little sleep. Before 2003, when the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, reduced the work-time of doctors, residents worked about 100 to 120 hours per week.
After complaints about the horrendous working time, the ACGME cut it down and set 60 hours as the average work time for senior members of the profession and 80 hours for residents.
Although this took a lot off the hours from the time the men and women in white had to work, it was still a long shift, and many saw it as the reason medical practitioners make errors that result in patient mortality.
However, this assertion is the opposite of reality. The reason doctors work long shifts is simple and entirely selfless; it has to do with patient care and the issue of the medical practice called “Hand-off.”
The term means the transfer of the details of a patient’s condition from one doctor to another during shift change; however, as uncomplicated as it sounds, it is the highest cause of patient mortality.
A study carried out by the Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare in 2012, showed that about 80% of critical medical errors are caused by miscommunication during Hand-off.
The study showed that most doctors do not adequately and efficiently transfer their patient information during a shift change, and although working long hours is seen as the cause of miscommunication, a 2004 study by the Journal of America Medical Association proved otherwise.
It showed that the margin between the errors made by sleep-deprived doctors and the well-rested ones is very slim. Thus, it is not a question of working long hours but having in-depth knowledge of a patient’s medical history.
To this end, doctors prefer to work long shifts, howbeit inconvenient, to ensure they monitor their patients effectively. But as good as their intentions are, working long hours can lead to burn out and to prevent this, several hospitals implement a strict hand-off procedure.
The issue of hand-off also affects nurse practitioners. Most nurses work between 10 to 13 hours shifts, and this often affects their productivity and result in a decline in patient satisfaction.
Despite these statistics, nurse practitioners do not mind extending their shifts as long as it helps their patient and ensures that they have the best possible care.
Based on a CNBC report in 2018, medical errors represent the third highest cause of death in the United States, and it is a more significant threat than inadequate training, a medical complication from lack of diagnosis, or faulty technology.
Therefore, to avoid this and change the statistics, doctors and nurse practitioners prefer to work long shifts, as long as it means that they get to keep their patients alive and well.
