Residents willing to work when they’re sick

Resident doctors who come to work sick risk passing their illness to colleagues and patients, yet many doctors-in-training take the gamble.

Medical educators and residency program leaders should educate residents that sometimes staying home is the most professional thing to do, stated Anupam B. Jena, MD, PhD, lead author and an assistant professor of health care policy and medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston.

The anonymous survey was conducted during the 2010 meeting of the Illinois chapter of the American College of Physicians. Those most likely to work when sick included second-year residents and women.

The most common reasons cited for the behavior were a sense of obligation to colleagues and a commitment to patient care. Nine percent of residents stated they had passed an illness to a patient as a result, and 21% stated they witnessed other residents pass illnesses to patients.

In addition to the risks of contagion, being tired and sick can endanger patients by impairing a physician’s decision-making ability, Dr. Jena said.

“It’s very different to come to work with a flu-like illness than to come with a headache, which doesn’t get transmitted to patients,” he said. “The culture of medicine has really been to put patients above and beyond your own well-being and health. That is a very admirable goal, but at the same time there are clearly instances when working when you are sick could impair the care that a physician provides.”

It would be difficult to extrapolate the studies’ results to practicing physicians, he said. Though most residency programs can develop a back-up plan when a resident is absent, it can be more difficult in a small physician practice.

Physicians who select to work when sick can take easy steps to lessen the risks of infecting others, such as wearing a mask and washing their hands frequently.

“It would be hard for me to advocate for [physicians in private practice] not to work when they’re sick because they’re often the only physician to treat their patients,” Dr. Jena said.

Why medical residents go to work sick

A survey of 150 Illinois resident doctors found that half stated they had gone to work with flu-like symptoms in the past year. The most common reasons cited for working when sick were obligations to colleagues and patients.

Copyright 2012 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.

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Submited at Wednesday, July 4th, 2012 at 4:15 pm on Uncategorized by admin
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