Even Honeybees show better mental focus when juiced up on caffeine! Perhaps it’s no coincidence that doctors, when busy like the bees, love their caffeine. It was doctors who first officially recorded praises of coffee. An adored Persian physician from 900 A.D – Dr. Razi – wrote of coffee as “hot and dry and very good for the stomach“, while a little later, another physician Dr. Avicenni wrote that it: “cleans the skin, and dries up the humidities that are under it, and gives an excellent smell to all the body” (Read More Here).
We certainly don’t consume caffeine for the smell or humidities anymore 🤣. A survey of over 3000 surgeons published in 2015 identified the main reasons for caffeine consumption as :
- Reducing fatigue
- Powering through Night shifts
- Excessive workload
In other words, it’s always been a legit drug for burnout! A Swiss study in 2015 found Orthopedic surgeons were the highest consumers of coffee, perhaps because drinking coffee in breaks between surgeries might be a norm? Interestingly the main focus is never to “improve clinical performance”. Studies in 2022 – this & this – showed no impact of caffeine consumption in surgeon’s skills from coffee on breaks.
While I often ‘prescribe’ coffee to patients for constipation & post-op ileus and to patients with liver disease to delay progression to Cirrhosis & Cancer, as a hospitalist, I personally find caffeine useful for its muscle performance-enhancing effect since we hospitalists walk thousands of steps on a regular workday. But another subtle but important reason I enjoy caffeine on the job – the comfort of familiarity. With the anxiety of the unknown complexities & emergencies that a typical day might have in store for me, the comforting & familiar smell & taste of coffee & tea makes it feel like home. For this psychological benefit, you could call me a druggie – but hey am a high-functioning druggie!
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