MEASURING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TEACHING AND NON-TEACHING ANESTHESIA STAFF WORKLOAD at AL-NOOR SPECIALIST HOSPITAL, MAKKAH, SAUDI ARABIA, MARCH 2021 (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Workload on health sector workers has increased dramatically in recent years. In this research we studied anesthesia staff in terms of teaching and non-teaching workload at AL Noor Specialist hospital and the extent of its impact on performance and vigilance. Decreased workload improves the performance and vigilance of anesthesia staff. OBJECTIVE 1. To determine the difference between the workload of teaching and non-teaching anesthesia staff. 2. To measure the workload of anesthesia staff in teaching and non-teaching cases. 3. To identify the definition, component, and effect of workload. 4. To explain the importance of the work of anesthesia staff. METHODS This is a cross-sectional study carried out using a Google form survey conducted among anesthesia staff at Al-Noor specialist Hospital, Makkah, Saudi Arabia. The target of the study included anesthesia staff (Anesthesia Technologist, Anesthesia Specialist, Anesthesia Consultant). RESULTS The workload density graph shows that the induction period in teaching cases was slightly higher compared to non-teaching cases. during the maintenance period and recovery period, workload density was slightly higher in teaching cases compared to the induction period. The degree of agreement with the statement, “stress and pressure increase during surgery (teaching cases)”, was mostly in the normal range. The degree of agreement with the statement, “increased workload will reduce your performance level and vigilance during the surgery”, was mostly in the strongly agree range. The degree of agreement with the statement, “increasing the workload reduces patient safety”, was mostly in the strongly agree range. CONCLUSIONS There is only a slight difference in workload between teaching and non-teaching cases, but this slight change may stand between the life or death of a patient in an area of fine margins, such as anesthesia. We recommend further study to include all hospitals in Makkah. We recommend that difficult cases, especially patients with American Society of Anesthesiologists(ASA3) or above, do not have students because that may jeopardize the safety of the patient and inhibit the vigilance and performance of anesthesia providers.