Exigencias laborales psicológicas percibidas por médicos especialistas hospitalarios

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Abstract

Objetivo: Identificar los factores de riesgo psicosocial, que hacen referencia a las exigencias psicológicas, percibidos por los médicos especialistas de seis hospitales públicos de la provincia de Valencia. Métodos: Estudio realizado mediante metodología cualitativa. La población estudiada ha sido personal facultativo especialista hospitalario (medicina interna, oncología, traumatología, unidad de cuidados intensivos [UCI] y radiología) de seis hospitales públicos de la provincia de Valencia. Una encuestadora especializada llevó a cabo 47 entrevistas semiestructuradas de manera individual y presencial. Las variables estructurales que se tuvieron en cuenta para la elección de los participantes en el estudio fueron: el sexo, la edad, el estado civil, las cargas familiares, la especialidad médica, la categoría profesional, la antigüedad profesional y el tipo de contrato. Las entrevistas fueron grabadas en audio y posteriormente transcritas. Finalmente, se realizó un análisis del contenido del discurso. Resultados: Los principales factores de riesgo psicosocial expresados por los participantes son la sobrecarga de trabajo y la falta de personal, debidas fundamentalmente a las características organizativas del trabajo del hospital. Otro elemento estresante es el contacto diario con el sufrimiento y con la muerte, así como el hecho de sentirse responsable de vidas humanas. Las relaciones interpersonales en el entorno laboral, en el caso de los familiares de los pacientes, constituyen también un factor de riesgo psicosocial destacable, así como la incertidumbre ante el diagnóstico y el tratamiento, las posibilidades de ser demandado por mala práctica y el tener que transmitir malas noticias. Conclusiones: El personal facultativo hospitalario expresa un alto número de factores de riesgo psicosocial. Algunos están relacionados específicamente con las características de la profesión médica (contacto con el sufrimiento y con la muerte, sentirse responsable de vidas humanas, incertidumbre ante el diagnóstico y el tratamiento) y otros con la organización del trabajo (sobrecarga de trabajo y falta de personal).

Translated abstract

Objective: To identify the psychosocial risk factors related to psychological demands perceived by specialist physicians from six public hospitals in the province of Valencia in Spain. Methods: A qualitative study was carried out. The population studied comprised the hospitals' specialist medical staff (Oncology, Internal Medicine, Traumatology, Radiology and Intensive Care). A trained interviewer performed 47 individual, face-to-face, semi-structured interviews. To select the participants, the following structural variables were taken into account: gender, age, family responsibilities, medical specialty, professional standing, length of service, and type of contract. Interviews were tape recorded and subsequently transcribed. Finally, the content of the interviews was analyzed. Results: The main psychosocial risk factors mentioned by the participants were workload and lack of staff, mainly due to the characteristics of work organization in the hospital. Another job stressor was daily contact with suffering and death, and feeling responsible for human life. Other significant job stressors were interpersonal relations in the work environment, in the case of patients' relatives, uncertainty about diagnosis and treatment, the possibility of being sued for malpractice, and communicating bad news. Conclusions: Hospital physicians report a large number of psychosocial risk factors. Some involve the characteristics of the medical profession (contact with suffering and death, responsibility for human life, uncertainty about diagnosis and treatment) and others concern work organization (workload and staffing shortages).

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Error, stress, and teamwork in medicine and aviation: cross sectional surveys.

Timothy J. Sexton, J. Thomas-Wilsker, Robert Helmreich (2000)

To survey operating theatre and intensive care unit staff about attitudes concerning error, stress, and teamwork and to compare these attitudes with those of airline cockpit crew. : Cross sectional surveys. : Urban teaching and non-teaching hospitals in the United States, Israel, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy. Major airlines around the world. : 1033 doctors, nurses, fellows, and residents working in operating theatres and intensive care units and over 30 000 cockpit crew members (captains, first officers, and second officers). : Perceptions of error, stress, and teamwork. : Pilots were least likely to deny the effects of fatigue on performance (26% v 70% of consultant surgeons and 47% of consultant anaesthetists). Most pilots (97%) and intensive care staff (94%) rejected steep hierarchies (in which senior team members are not open to input from junior members), but only 55% of consultant surgeons rejected such hierarchies. High levels of teamwork with consultant surgeons were reported by 73% of surgical residents, 64% of consultant surgeons, 39% of anaesthesia consultants, 28% of surgical nurses, 25% of anaesthetic nurses, and 10% of anaesthetic residents. Only a third of staff reported that errors are handled appropriately at their hospital. A third of intensive care staff did not acknowledge that they make errors. Over half of intensive care staff reported that they find it difficult to discuss mistakes. Medical staff reported that error is important but difficult to discuss and not handled well in their hospital. Barriers to discussing error are more important since medical staff seem to deny the effect of stress and fatigue on performance. Further problems include differing perceptions of teamwork among team members and reluctance of senior theatre staff to accept input from junior members.