Knowledgeable and Experienced Guidance

Fatigue among health care providers a growing risk to patients

On Behalf of | Oct 24, 2019 | Medical Malpractice |

When patients are seeking health care assistance in North Carolina, they are putting significant trust in the people who diagnose and treat them, to provide reliable, safe and sustainable medical care. While many facilities practice due diligence in protecting their patients, doctors and nurses are subject to the flaws of humanity just as any other person would be.

Unfortunately, factors including miscommunication, personal trials and even extreme fatigue, can be exponentially more serious for doctors and nurses who are charged with caring for and treating numerous patients each shift. A recent study indicated that fatigue affecting the ability to think, reason and make decisions is an issue for nearly half of all health care professionals in the nation. Mistakes stemming from exhaustion put patients at a significantly higher risk of being injured or having to return for continued medical treatment.

The exhaustion is the result of being overworked and becoming burned out. Factors found to be affecting a professional’s likelihood of experiencing burnout included the chaos of each shift, the often-heavy workload and the pressure of making life-altering decisions for many of their patients. Facilities that put a larger emphasis on providing support and solutions for their doctors and nurses who are at the highest risk of experiencing burnout, may be able to circumvent such risks before they translate into a visible hazard for the patients being treated.

If people have been injured because their doctor was negligent in providing the quality of health care they needed to improve their condition, an attorney may be able to help. Legal professionals can take the task of proving injury and allow injured parties to focus on their recovery and healing.

Source: The Washington Post, “Health-care system causing rampant burnout among doctors, nurses,” William Wan, Oct. 23, 2019