Beyond substance abuse: stress, burnout, and depression as causes of physician impairment and disruptive behavior.

Full Abstract

Disruptive physician behavior may diminish productivity, lead to medical errors, and compromise patient safety. The purpose of this paper is to review how common psychological conditions such as depression, stress, and burnout may drive disruptive behavior in the workplace and result in impaired patterns of professional conduct similar to what is seen with substance abuse. Problems related to these psychological morbidities may be more effectively managed with improved understanding of the conditions and behaviors, their associated risk factors, and the barriers that exist to reporting them. Further research and educational programs are warranted to address how these conditions might affect radiology.

Author information

Author/s: Brown, Stephen D (SD); Goske, Marilyn J (MJ); Johnson, Craig M (CM);

Affiliation: Department of Radiology, Children's Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. stephen.brown(-atsign-)childrens.harvard.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; Review

Journal: Journal of the American College of Radiology : JACR (J Am Coll Radiol), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2009-Jul; vol 6 (issue 7) : pp 479-85

Dates: Created 2009/06/29; Completed 2009/09/10;

PMID: 19560063, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 9/10/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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