Fatigued med students likely to commit more medical errors

Patient Safety Monitor Alert

• Email|
• Print|
• Subscribe|
• View Archives

December 13, 2006

A new study out of Harvard Medical School says that working for 24 straight hours greatly increases the likelihood of committing an error on the job. This is especially pertinent to medical students, who are often asked to work a 24-hour or longer shift.

The study asked 2,737 medical students to fill out a monthly survey about their work schedule and sleep habits. It also asked them about the number of errors they thought they had committed while working.

Many students often pulled a 30-hour shift more than once a week. This practice led to an increase in fatigue-related mistakes. When medical students were asked to take on these lengthier shifts five or more times a month, their risk for committing an error increased by 700% and the risk for making a mistake that resulted in the death of a patient increased by 300%.

To read the full article, please click here.