Addressing fatigue in medical residents with biomathematical fatigue modeling.
J Occup Health
; 63(1): e12267, 2021 Jan.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1355861
ABSTRACT
Fatigue in resident physicians has been identified as a factor that contributes to burnout and a decline in overall wellbeing. Fatigue risk exists because of poor sleep habits and demanding work schedules that have only increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At this time, it is important not to lose sight of how fatigue can impact residents and how fatigue risk can be mitigated. While fatigue mitigation is currently addressed by duty hour restrictions and education about fatigue, Fatigue Risk Management Systems (FRMSs) offer a more comprehensive strategy for addressing these issues. An important component of FRMS in other shiftwork industries, such as aviation and trucking, is the use of biomathematical models to prospectively identify fatigue risk in work schedules. Such an approach incorporates decades of knowledge of sleep and circadian rhythm research into shift schedules, taking into account not just duty hour restrictions but the temporal placement of work schedules. Recent research has shown that biomathematical models of fatigue can be adapted to a resident physician population and can help address fatigue risk. Such models do not require subject matter experts and can be applied in graduate medical education program shift scheduling. It is important for graduate medical education program providers to consider these alternative methods of fatigue mitigation. These tools can help reduce fatigue risk and may improve wellness as they allow for a more precise fatigue management strategy without reducing overall work hours.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Work Schedule Tolerance
/
Education, Medical, Graduate
/
Fatigue
/
Internship and Residency
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
North America
Language:
English
Journal:
J Occup Health
Journal subject:
Occupational Medicine
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
1348-9585.12267
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