Doctors getting distracted is a serious safety issue. Unfortunately, studies show that a lot of them do get distracted and this sometimes leads to mistakes that endanger or harm their patients.
What is it that takes a doctor’s focus off the job? The distractions that affect doctors are the same ones that can affect anyone in any job. Here are a few examples:
Phones and other electronic devices
Doctors are often expected to be contactable at all times during their shifts. So they may be expected to keep their phone switched on or carry a pager. An interruption while dealing with a patient could cause them to forget what point they were at. Even if they “ignore” the ring or beep, and continue focusing on the patient, their mind might be away wondering who is calling or why.
People talking
Have you ever been trying to focus on a task or listen to what the person you are conversing with is saying, only to find yourself turning into a conversation happening close by? There are a lot of conversations happening in hospitals, so it’s unlikely any doctor can block all of them out all of the time.
External noise
Maybe there’s a new block of apartments going up across the road from the hospital and drilling going on. Perhaps the garbage collection vehicle has just turned up and is emitting its warning signal as it reverses. Such noises can not only be incredibly annoying, but they can be incredibly distracting for doctors too.
There is no escaping distractions altogether, and distracted doctoring is a known problem. Hospitals must ensure safety checks are in place so that if a doctor makes a mistake due to distraction or something else, the doctor or someone else catches it before it results in harm to a patient. If harm does occur, those affected may want to investigate their options for compensation.
