#ANESTHESIOLOGIST WORK HOURS DRIVERS#
#ANESTHESIOLOGIST WORK HOURS PROFESSIONAL#

In fact, the anesthesiologist’s role of monitoring the patient in a vigilant manner may be particularly vulnerable to the effects of fatigue. An irrefutable fact is that fatigue and sleep deprivation negatively impact performance and mood (see Table 1). This is often in opposition to what our physiology demands.

#ANESTHESIOLOGIST WORK HOURS PROFESSIONAL#

Think of the professional and personal liability of coming to work intoxicated!Īnesthesia providers, like all health care providers, are required to care for patients when they present for care-anytime of the day or night. This is at or above the legal limit for driving in most states. 2 At 24 hours of continuous wakefulness, psychomotor function was equivalent to a blood alcohol concentration of 0.1%. Studies have shown a correlation between the performance effects of sleep deprivation and ethanol intoxication. These examples and many others reveal that fatigue is a problem that extends beyond health care and is deeply embedded within our society.

#ANESTHESIOLOGIST WORK HOURS DRIVERS#

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administrations estimates that over 100,000 people are killed or injured each year in crashes attributed to drivers who fell asleep at the wheel or were impaired by severe drowsiness. The National Transportation Safety Board found that the probable cause of this accident was the fatigue of the person sailing the ship. The grounding of the Exxon Valdez was a monumental environmental catastrophe. The nuclear accidents at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl both occurred during the early morning hours when our bodies are craving sleep. 1 In 1986, the Presidential Commission found that faulty decision-making by sleep-deprived managers contributed to the untoward launch of the space shuttle Challenger. We hope that the material in this issue will encourage others in our field to join with us to change the manner in which we practice and care for patients.įatigue and Safety Fatigue has played a causal or contributory role in some famous accidents. Anesthesiology has been very forward-looking regarding many aspects of safety, and there is again an opportunity to be at the “cutting edge” in dealing with this pervasive problem. There is renewed interest in this topic, and we have gathered a cadre of individuals who will present important new information on this topic. This edition of the APSF Newsletter will focus on fatigue and the anesthesia care provider. It is also unsafe for the practitioner when you consider the possibility of harm due to occupational injury (e.g., needlesticks) and the increased risk of driving while sleepy. This clearly is a dangerous situation for our patients. Eyelids get heavy and the environment starts to “grey out.” Ask yourself if you desire to be cared for by health care workers who look and feel this way. For example, watching a colleague fall asleep at a meeting or watching an intern struggle to remain alert while holding a surgical retractor.

Anesthesiologist work hours