Surgery is one of the most stressful occupations, despite the fact that it is very lucrative. Studies have documented that around 40% of surgeons are burned out, and 30% of them have depression symptoms. Surgeons work long hours and have to be on-call several nights per week. As a result, two out of three surgeons feel that their work schedule does not leave enough time for personal/family life, and about half would not recommend to their children to pursue a career as a surgeon.

However, up to this point, not enough was known about the effect of surgeons’ mental status on the safety of care that they provide. A study published yesterday suggests that medical errors committed by surgeons are directly related to their degree of burnout and depression.

According to the study, “burnout is a syndrome of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization that leads decreased effectiveness at work.” Some of the symptoms of burnout include treating patients as objects rather than human beings and becoming emotionally depleted. Medical errors are mistakes that are committed by a surgeon during the care of a patient, such as operating on the wrong patient, the wrong knee or forgetting to stop a medication before, during or after surgery.

Around 7,905 surgeons participated in the study. Of those, 700 (8.9%) reported committing a medical error in the last three months. This in turn was directly associated with depersonalization and emotional exhaustion (the symptoms of burnout). For each one point increase on a scale that measures depersonalization (a 0-33 scale), surgeons were 11% more likely to report an error. For each one point increase on an emotional exhaustion scale (a 0-54 scale), there was a 5% increase in the likelihood of reporting an error.

While these results can be alarming to patients, it is often very hard for them to pick on these symptoms, and even if they notice that their surgeon is burned out, there might be little they can do. Surgery groups and hospitals should work better to help reduce surgeons’ distress and help support them better.