Innovation Strategies for Combating Occupational Stress and Fatigue in Medical Imaging

Excerpt

The adverse effect of occupational stress and fatigue on job performance was first documented by Lazarus et al. in 1952 [1]. Later work by Cohen in 1980 [2] reported occupational stress to be a source of cognitive fatigue and diminished energy, leading to information overload. While this earlier work was not directly related to healthcare, many observations are relevant to contemporary medical practice. In addition to cognitive fatigue and information overload, a variety of occupational stressors have been described including bureaucratic frustration and task load, which lead to diminished job performance and perceptual distractions [2]. It is important to note that the incidence and severity of occupational stress and fatigue is highly variable and dependent upon a number of individual worker attributes, including personality, job experience, age, and fear of negative evaluation [3, 4]. …