1. Need for recovery amongst emergency physicians in the UK and Ireland: a cross-sectional survey
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Jos Latour, Laura Cottey, J Leung, Doyo Enki, Blair Graham, Mark David Lyttle, J Browning, F Cantle, J Criddle, J Foot, S Hartshorn, N Mullen, R Hughes, E Williams, S Hall, A Ghosh, M Morrison, S Taylor, DSD Ranasinghe, A Basu, S Gray, E Frost, S Lewis, P Fitzpatrick, G Gardner, N Ali, Kara Nicola Stevens, R Bond, J Patel, J Thompson, S Bailey, J Norton, C Thomas, A Paul, K Thomas, H Cooper, L McKechnie, A Knight, E Walton, C Kennedy, L Kane, S Richter, J Selway, C Rimmer, M Ayres, C Ponami, A Quartermain, K Kaur, K McGregor, T Clingo, R Stewart, K Mirza, T Hussan, P Cuthbert, M Alex, F Barham, A Bayston, K Veeramuthu, R Macfarlane, G Lipton, K New, M Jee Poh Hock, E Umana, C Ward, V Agosti, M Connelly, C Weegenaar, J Kerr, SJ Dhutia, T Owens, B Cherian, U Basit, D Hartin, O Williams, C Lindsay, S Manou, MH Elwan, C Nunn, R Fuller, S Stevenson, C Reynard, J Daly, A Da’Costa, L How, G Boggaram, D McConnell, R Hirst, R Campbell, J Muller, H Chatha, R Grimwood, F Fadhlillah, S Ojo, S Ramsundar, A Blackwell, I Traiforos, T Sparkes, L Barrett, M Sheikh, J Driessen, S Meredith, C Newbury, H Grimsmo-Powney, H Malik, L Gwatkin, R Blackburn, F Gillies, TF McLoughlin, SM Rahman, K Hopping, M Broyde, K Challen, M Macdonald, A Randle, E Timony-Nolan, H Fairbairn, G Gracey, K Clayton, C Magee, G Hartshorne, J Foley, S Gardner, S Pintus, K Scott, K Brammer, A Raghunathan, S Langston, S Saunder, C Szekeres, L Kehler, B O’Hare, A Arumugam, C Leech, Y Moulds, DL Thom, A Mackay, R Wright, CE Davies, A Hanks, E Murray, A Saunders, KI Malik, IMV Asif, S Manouchehri, A Fatkin, S Naeem, N Cherian, O Hill, C Boulind, P Williams, S Hardwick, C Gandolfi, E Everitt, G Hampton, D McKeever, D Purdy, L Savage, L Brown, P Harris, R Sharr, R Loffhagen, V Rivers, HD Khan, K Vincent, H Baird, S Bury, E Grocholski, G Kamalatharan, J Gaiawyn, G Johnson, A Tabner, L Abraham, N Sexton, A Akhtar, C de Buitleir, B Clarke, M Colmar, Z Haslam, K Veermuthu, D Raffo, J Stafford, S Mclintock, OR Griffiths, B McIlwham, K Cunningham, and E Clegg
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Medicine - Abstract
Objectives To determine the need for recovery (NFR) among emergency physicians and to identify demographic and occupational characteristics associated with higher NFR scores.Design Cross-sectional electronic survey.Setting Emergency departments (EDs) (n=112) in the UK and Ireland.Participants Emergency physicians, defined as any registered physician working principally within the ED, responding between June and July 2019.Main outcome measure NFR Scale, an 11-item self-administered questionnaire that assesses how work demands affect intershift recovery.Results The median NFR Score for all 4247 eligible, consented participants with a valid NFR Score was 70.0 (95% CI: 65.5 to 74.5), with an IQR of 45.5–90.0. A linear regression model indicated statistically significant associations between gender, health conditions, type of ED, clinical grade, access to annual and study leave, and time spent working out-of-hours. Groups including male physicians, consultants, general practitioners (GPs) within the ED, those working in paediatric EDs and those with no long-term health condition or disability had a lower NFR Score. After adjusting for these characteristics, the NFR Score increased by 3.7 (95% CI: 0.3 to 7.1) and 6.43 (95% CI: 2.0 to 10.8) for those with difficulty accessing annual and study leave, respectively. Increased percentage of out-of-hours work increased NFR Score almost linearly: 26%–50% out-of-hours work=5.7 (95% CI: 3.1 to 8.4); 51%–75% out-of-hours work=10.3 (95% CI: 7.6 to 13.0); 76%–100% out-of-hours work=14.5 (95% CI: 11.0 to 17.9).Conclusion Higher NFR scores were observed among emergency physicians than reported in any other profession or population to date. While out-of-hours working is unavoidable, the linear relationship observed suggests that any reduction may result in NFR improvement. Evidence-based strategies to improve well-being such as proportional out-of-hours working and improved access to annual and study leave should be carefully considered and implemented where feasible.
- Published
- 2020
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