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Would you want to see your doctor for the flu if he or she were also sick?
What about if you were being operated on by a doctor who had the flu?
I don’t think most patients would want that. But unfortunately, most doctors say they would—and do—go into work sick if necessary.
This finding is based on a study of 474 doctors at an academic hospital in California, all at different points in their careers.
When surveyed, 96 percent of them said that they would go to work if they had cold symptoms. And it doesn’t get much better from there.
A whopping 77 percent of doctors said they’d work if they had diarrhea, and 54 percent would work if they were vomiting.
Half of them said they would still work if they had a fever between 101 and 103 degrees Fahrenheit. 1 out of 4 of them said they’d work with a fever higher than 103 degrees.
And 36 percent of them said they’d work even if they definitely knew they had the flu.
Why are these doctors so bent on coming into work, even when they risk infecting their patients? Researcher Dr. Shruti K. Gohil, associate medical director of epidemiology and infection prevention at the University of California, Irvine, said:
“A lot of it had to do with feeling guilty, that your colleagues are going to come and take on the work if you aren’t there, or that your patients are going to suffer if you’re not there.”
And of course, there’s the strong work ethic that all doctors have, there’s a pressure not to fall behind on that.
Doctors said they’d be more likely to stay home if there were more specific protocols in place for staying home, or if they had the support of their superiors.
But in the meantime, there’s reason to be wary.
