Assessment of physician sleep and wellness, burnout, and clinically significant medical errors.
Fatigue among health care workers can increase the risk of errors. This large cross-sectional study of attending and house staff physicians found that sleep-related impairment was associated with increased burnout, decreased professional fulfillment, and increased self-reported clinically significant medical error. Organizational policies should focus on reducing sleep-related impairment in order to reduce harm to patients and physicians.