PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS AND ERROR MAKING AMONG JUNIOR HOUSE OFFICERS

Objectives. The study examined the impact of beginning a junior house officer post on possible changes in psychological health and propensit y to make errors. It was predicted that there would be a significant i ncrease in psychological disturbance and error making following the on set of the post. Design. Questionnaires were administered at two times -prior to and eight weeks after the beginning of a junior house office r post. Methods. Thirty graduates of medicine/junior house officers we re recruited from a university medical school in the UK. All participa nts completed the General Health Questionnaire and the Cognitive Failu res Questionnaire at Times 1 and 2, as well as a Medical Errors Questi onnaire at Time 2. Results. Significant increases were found in report ed levels of anxiety insomnia and somatic symptoms. There were also si gnificant: increases in the number of errors that the respondents repo rted making in everyday life. These everyday errors were significantly related to the reported frequency of errors made in a medical context . Conclusions. Despite recent revisions to the working hours and condi tions of junior doctors in Britain, the respondents in this study were experiencing considerable increases in stressful symptoms and consequ ent increases in the number of errors they made. These findings sugges t: that further research and policy development is required to explore means of easing the transition to work for junior doctors.