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Johns Hopkins has released a study indicating that temporary hires in emergency rooms present a disproportionate danger to patients, likely because they are generally unfamiliar with the hospital's practices. This is especially worrisome in light of the day's shortage of nurses, which only serves to raise the demand for temps, who earn more per hour than permanent nurses, but do not receive benefits.
According to the Johns Hopkins press release from August 25, temps are twice as likely as permanent employees to be involved in malpractice that leads to a patient's harm, which ranges from temporary to life-threatening harm. The more temps an emergency department staffs, the higher its potential cost to both patients and to the hospital for medical liability.
Johns Hopkins looked at 24,000 emergency room errors from 2000 to 2005, as recorded in a voluntary internet database of 592 hospitals. The results are published in the Journal for Healthcare Quality.
Researchers posited several limitations to temporary workers in medicine. They are less likely to know other staff, and therefore do not feel as comfortable speaking up when they think something may be wrong. They also conduct their own continuing education and may fall behind their peers. The procedures and protocols of the hospital are also more foreign to temps than to permanent employees. All of these issues are compounded in the emergency room, a high-pressure environment, where orders are given urgently and verbally. This study did not look at the correlation of temporary workers and errors in other departments.
As a practicing medical malpractice, wrongful death, and personal injury attorney in New York, I deal with medical errors like these every day. If you have experienced related problems, I want you to pick up the phone and call me. I can help. If you would like more information about how medical malpractice and accident cases work in the state of New York, I encourage you to explore my educational website. If you have legal questions, I urge you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com to answer your questions. That's what I do every day. I welcome your call.
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