J Korean Soc Emerg Med.
2013 Aug;24(4):428-438.
Work-related Fatigue, Stress and Depression of the Emergency Department Interns
- Affiliations
-
- 1Department of Emergency Medicine, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Korea. kim7155@knu.ac.kr
- 2Department of Emergency Medicine, College of Medicine, Yeungnam University, Daegu, Korea.
- 3Department of Emergency Medicine, Keimyung University Dongsan Medical Center, Daegu, Korea.
- 4Department of Emergency Medicine, Catholic University of Daegu, School of Medicine, Daegu, Korea.
- 5Department of Emergency Medicine, CHA Gumi Medical Center, CHA University, Gumi, Korea.
Abstract
- PURPOSE
An internship is a very generally a stressful period during medical training in general. Working in the Emergency Department (ED) is especially difficult and stressful because of its unique clinical environment. Our goal was to determine the level of the depression, fatigue, sleep disorders and stress of interns in the ED.
METHODS
A questionnaire was distributed to 430 interns who are working or had worked in the ED. The questionnaire included questions about general characteristics and scales relating to symptoms of depression, fatigue, sleep disorder and stress.
RESULTS
Of the 430 questionnaires given out, 178(41.4%) were returned. The mean age of the participants was 28.4+/-2.9, and 123(69.5%) were male. Also, 112(63.3%) participants were working at an alumni-affiliated hospital or at related hospital. The interns at an unrelated hospital experienced more discrimination than those working at an alumni-related hospital (21.5% vs. 9.8%, respectively, p=0.031). Also, female interns experienced more sexual harassment than male interns (16.7% vs. 2.4%, respectively, p=0.001). The average score for medical outcomes study MOS sleep scale, Beck Depression Inventory, Fatigue Severity Scale and Cohen Perceived Stress Scale were 16.2+/-4.0, 8.0+/-7.8, 4.3+/-1.2 and 19.4+/-5.4, respectively. The degree of participation in treating patients first hand (OR 2.33, 95% CI=1.19-4.57), experiencing discrimination (OR 3.17, 95% CI=1.15-8.73) and long working hours (OR 2.02, 95% CI=1.05-3.86) had a significant effect on stress and depression.
CONCLUSION
The interns who worked at an ED had higher fatigue and stress scores compared to ordinary person. Also, participation, discrimination and working hours may be good to mention. Therefore, more research and effort is required to improve the factors that cause fatigue, stress and depression of the interns in ED.
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