How to Manage Fatigue as a Locum Worker

Fatigue is a common battle for those in the medical industry. While caring for and managing the health of patients is a priority, it is often overlooked when it comes to healthcare workers themselves. 

Locum medical professionals are some of the most likely to suffer from fatigue, and need to be particularly mindful of managing their own health and wellbeing. Unpredictable schedules and changing work environments can have a taxing effect on staff, which in turn can see more medical errors or harm to the wellbeing of the practitioner themselves. 

Three Ways to Manage Fatigue as a Locum Professional

• Manage Your Schedule

Managing your shifts, timetable and workload is very important when working as a locum. Poorly planned or overworked schedules are one of the main factors that lead to fatigue for these practitioners. While the freedom and flexibility of a locum work roster can be a great advantage, if poorly managed it can mean erratic timetables with little time for rest. 

For those wondering if their schedule could be leading to higher risk of fatigue, make sure you are avoiding some of the following common downfalls;  Working more than seventy hours a week, skipping meal breaks during the work day or taking very few or no full days off work. 

Commonly we see junior practitioners taking overtime, double shifts or extra shifts to make up for the lower pay rate, or for permanent doctors to take locum positions during their annual leave, which can both easily lead to burn out and fatigue. The Australian Medical Association has developed a fatigue risk checklist and assessment tool that can measure and help practitioners monitor working patterns and if they are leading to a risk of fatigue. 

When assessing your workload be sure to weigh up the priorities and responsibilities involved, as they will differ across roles and work environments. We also recommend accounting for your travel commitments when working as a locum practitioner, as they can also be taxing on your fatigue and mental health. It is very important to assess your fatigue honestly and realise the impacts that they can have on the quality of work, care and patient safety. 

• Mindfulness in Your Work Environment

While both employees and employers are held responsible for avoiding accidents in the workplace, including those caused by fatigue, it can be difficult for locums who are constantly moving between different work environments. Identifying, educating about the risks and controlling them when they arise is the best way to be mindful of your working environment while being locum. 

Locum practitioners need to be their own biggest advocates, possessing the skills and self-discipline to be able to assess their own fatigue, researching each state/territory policies and workplace management systems as they move between jobs to ensure they are equipped with the best knowledge to avoid fatigue. 

Considering the working conditions, design and layout of your workplace is also an important contributing factor to fatigue. You should ensure your workplace has ample and effective lighting, access to break areas and space to take time when needed, and strong and effective communication methods. Amongst these general working conditions, it is also important locum workers have access to available accommodation and/or parking for locum and after hours’ workers at the hospital. All of these factors may seem like small things but without good working conditions staff mentality and productivity can slip.

• Manage Your Personal Health & Recovery

Taking care of your personal health is vital for all, but especially for locum workers as they need to allow sufficient time for rest and recovery. Taking care of your own well being as an individual is equally as important so you can then provide the best care for your patients in the workplace that you are representing.

According to the Australian Medical Association, 18 hours of sustained wakefulness is similar to having a blood alcohol reading of greater than 0.05%. Those experiencing sleeplessness should be aware of the lead on effects such as increased stress and poorer physical and mental health. These effects can increase your chances of cardiovascular and gastrointestinal illnesses in the long term. To avoid these issues, a minimum eight hours of sleep between your shifts is recommended, maximising opportunities to take short breaks during your shift and working in a positive environment. 

Other factors that can increase the risk of how well you are able to manage your own fatigue include characteristics such as poor diet, lack of exercise or low emotional or mental health. Seeing your local external GP for advice can be a great objective opinion on if fatigue is affecting your overall health.

Your commitments outside of work are also a great way to balance fatigue. External commitments are great to refill your social needs and give you a relaxing and stimulating balance when you’re on your downtime from work. 

When managing your work schedule, ensure you also put equal emphasis on managing your time to unwind, relax, recover and recharge. Both your mental and physical health needs to be a priority, especially those who work as a locum health professional so you not only take care of yourself, but so you can take care of those around you, both colleagues and  patients.