Doctors often advise their patients to stay home when they are ill, so they don’t spread their germs to healthy people. If only health professionals took their own advice!
A study conducted at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia found a surprisingly high proportion of health care providers report for work even when they are sick. Although these doctors, nurse practitioners and physician assistants recognized that showing up for a shift with a fever or cough could put their patients at risk, they worried even more about letting down their colleagues. More than half said they had come to work even though they were coming down with a respiratory tract infection such as a cold or the flu. Others came to work although they had an infection that caused diarrhea.
The researchers noted that the culture of health care systems encourages many providers to work even when they are sick. Changing this culture will be difficult, but it is essential for public health. Nobody should be expected to report for duty with a communicable condition, especially not health care workers. Health care systems may need to change their staffing policies to make sure vulnerable patients are not exposed to germs from sick health care providers.
