15% of surgeons are alcoholics and those who have made major medical errors are most likely to be addicted to alcohol

15% of surgeons are alcoholics and those who have made major medical errors are most likely to be alcoholics (Alberta Times) An anonymous online survey found that alcoholism is a serious problem among surgeons in the United States...

(Alberta Times)

An anonymous online survey found that American surgeons have a serious alcohol problem. About 15% of surgeons are alcoholics or dependent on alcohol. The proportions of male and female surgeons with alcoholism are 14% and 26% respectively. According to HealthDay News, the proportion of surgeons who are alcoholics exceeds the overall proportion of alcoholics in the United States (8% to 12%). Michael Oreskovich, a clinical associate professor of psychological and behavioral sciences at the University of Washington, said it must be emphasized that multiple studies have shown that patients being affected by alcoholism by surgeons is extremely rare, and the chance is about 1 in 10,000. But the phenomenon of binge drinking among surgeons also raises the question of why other safety-sensitive professions conduct drug checks on practitioners but not surgeons. Oriskovich added that some anesthesiologists are now also subject to drug testing, so it makes no sense that surgeons should not be tested. For the study, researchers analyzed a 2010 survey of members of the American College of Surgeons. All surveys were conducted anonymously online and included less than a third of the overall population of surgeons (more than 25,000 people). Of the 7,200 surgeons who participated in the survey, 1,112 reported drinking habits that amounted to binge drinking and alcohol dependence. Physicians who had made significant medical errors in the three months prior to the survey were most likely to have alcohol problems. Overall, binge drinking was less common among male surgeons, those with children, and among older physicians, as well as among those who worked longer hours, were often on call, or were employed by the federal Department of Veterans Affairs. "The discovery of alcoholism at the American College of Surgeons is really bizarre," Oriskovitch said. "It brings awareness to a problem that may be worse than the statistics because some surgeons may not be answering questions honestly."