Medical errors significant source of stress for doctors

Hospitals and other organizations should give more support to physicians who commit a medical error, researchers said.

By Damon Adams, AMNews staff. Aug. 13, 2007.

Doctors experience anxiety and lose their confidence when they are involved with a medical error, a new study found. But only 10% of surveyed doctors said their health care organization helps them cope with error-related stress.

Researchers surveyed 3,171 U.S. and Canadian physicians in 2003 and 2004 to examine the impact medical mistakes had on them. Ninety-two percent said they were involved in a minor or serious error, or a near miss, according to the study in the August issue of The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety.

"It's not just a very small number of doctors who are impacted. Many are reporting this is a significant source of stress for them," said study lead author Amy D. Waterman, PhD, a psychologist and assistant professor of medicine at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

The more severe the error, the more likely a physician was distressed. Many doctors experienced increased anxiety about making more errors, loss of confidence and job satisfaction, and sleep problems. Doctors who spent more than 75% of their time in clinical practice and female physicians were more likely to be stressed after a serious error. One in three doctors who had a near miss also experienced increased stress.