| A new study produced some obvious results, but results that should be taken a look at.
Surgeons in the study were instructed to drink as much alcohol as they wanted the night before and then were put through a series of tests checking out their mechanical skills and working knowledge in the following day.
It was found that even up to 4:00 p.m. the next day their judgment and coordination was impaired compared to a control group.
Alcohol use is something that should be recommended against by surgeons the night before they are working. Otherwise they reduce the chances of a successful outcome for their patients.
What can patients do about this? One simplicity is to not schedule a surgery on Saturday, Sunday or Monday, but really what needs to be done is more awareness needs to be raised about this matter.
Typically a patient is so introverted about his own condition that he does not even stop to think about the competence level of his physician. But this is something that should be disclosed. Particularly patients should have a right to know if their doctor has had any drug-related incidents in the workplace, so he can be safe knowing whether or not his physician suffers from any substance dependence.
In other words, if a patient’s doctor needs to check into one of the many drug abuse rehabs in the nation, the patient has a right to know. |