Depression in Young Doctors Tied to Medication Errors

Medical residents who are depressed are about six times more likely to make medication errors than those who aren't depressed, says a study that looked a 123 pediatric residents at three children's hospitals in the United States.

Researchers found that 20 percent of the residents were depressed, and 74 percent were burned out. During the study period, the residents made a total of 45 medications errors, and those who were depressed made 6.2 times more medication errors than those who weren't depressed.

There didn't appear to be any link between higher medication error rates and burnout. The study was published online Feb. 7 in the British Medical Journal.

These findings suggest that doctors' mental health may play a more significant role in patient safety than previously suspected, the study authors said. In addition, the high burnout rate among residents in this study -- consistent with other studies -- indicates that methods of training doctors may cause stress that harms residents' health.

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