Trainee hospital physicians who report higher levels of fatigue, sleepiness and stress are more likely to report a subsequent medical error, according to research carried out at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, USA.rnThe research used standardised scales to measure self-reported medical errors, sleepiness,fatigue, quality of life, burnout and depression among residents (the US equivalent of registrars) in internal medicine. A total of 380 residents at the hospital (68% response), who began training between 2003 and 2008, completed the surveys every three months up to February 2009. Thirty-nine per cent of the participants reported making at least one major medical error during the study period.
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