Sleep Deprivation.
Sleep deprivation occurs when inadequate sleep leads to decreased performance, inadequate alertness, and deterioration in health. It is incompletely understood why humans need sleep, although some theories include energy conservation, restoration, and information processing. Sleep deprivation has many deleterious health effects. Residency programs have enacted strict work restrictions because of medically related errors due to sleep deprivation. Because obstetrics is an unpredictable specialty with long irregular hours, enacting a hospitalist program enhances patient safety, decreases malpractice risk, and improves the physician's quality of life by allowing obstetricians to get sufficient rest.
Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, 415 North Ninth Street, 6W100, PO Box 19640, Springfield, IL 62794, USA. Electronic address: rabrams@siumed.edu.
Robert M
RM
Abrams
D000062:Accidents, Occupational / Q000517:prevention & control*; D001288:Attention; D005221:Fatigue / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D019300:Medical Errors / Q000517:prevention & control*; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology*; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012892:Sleep Deprivation / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology; D014481:United States; D014940:Work Schedule Tolerance / Q000523:psychology*
Fatigue management; Hospitalist; Physician fatigue; Pregnancy; Residency program; Sleep; Sleep deprivation