Work Environment Differences Between Outpatient and Inpatient Surgery: A Pilot Study on the Vascular Surgeons'...

Area of Science:

• Vascular Surgery
• Healthcare Management
• Occupational Health

Background:

• Outpatient endovascular surgery implementation in France has been slow and uneven since 2015.
• The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the shift to outpatient surgery due to bed demand and staffing shortages.
• This rapid shift may have strained the hospital medical workforce, impacting well-being and workload.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze nursing staff well-being and workload as perceived by vascular surgeons.
• To assess the relationship between nursing staff psychosocial stress and surgeon concentration/serenity.
• To understand the impact on surgical procedure safety and the overall working environment.

Main Methods:

• An observational study utilizing an online questionnaire.
• Survey distributed to senior members of the French Society of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery (n=490).
• Data collected between October 10-18, 2022, with a 25% response rate (125 surgeons).

Main Results:

• 68% of vascular surgeons reported that nursing staff psychosocial stress significantly impaired their concentration and serenity.
• High work pace (64%), demand for flexibility (56%), and schedule change unpredictability (82%) were key stressors.
• Difficulties in communicating concerns to hospital managers were reported by 44.6% of surgeons.

Conclusions:

• The accelerated implementation of outpatient surgery correlates with deteriorating working environments for vascular surgeons.
• Increased workload and patient comorbidities in conventional surgery wards exacerbate these issues.
• Worsened psychosocial stress among staff negatively affects the quality of care provided.