80 hour work week--anyone NOT like it?

[sophiejane]

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There was a recent posting on the Allopathic board in which a medical student claimed that he was "against" the 80-hour a week work limit for residents. As an aspiring surgeon, he fears that such a miniscule amount of time on the job will prevent him from learning everything he needs to know.

I find this kind of ridiculous, but wondered what you guys, who are actually on the front lines, thought of this.

Are you happy with the limits? Would you rather not have them? Do we need to make it more like 70 hours a week? Anyone feel ripped off by having to go home after putting in an 80 hour week?

 

[sophiejane]

okay....sorry...just saw the giant thread below about this...

(The system won't let you do a search with the number "80" in it.....)

I guess I should say, does anyone OTHER than surgery residents not like it?

 

[MacGyver]

That med student is an absolute fool if he thinks that under the old system that all the time he was spending at the hospital would have been "quality" learning time.

If hospital administrators are REALLY as worried about lack of training as they claim to be, then they will hire PAs and nurses to do all the scut work.

 

[Linie]

Even without scut work, there's still a lot of work to be done in taking care of patients.

 

[fourthyear]

Everyone acts like surgery residents are demented b/c they sometimes complain about the 80 hour limit.

Well, like Linie says, there's a lot to do taking care of patients. Surgery residents have all the same work medicine residents do in taking care of their patients PLUS they like to operate (and HAVE to operate in order to fulfill the requirements of completing a surgery residency). It's not appropriate to make the same blanket 80 hour rule for radiology residents, psych residents, and surgery residents. I have said many times I love my days off and I'm happy I'm not slaving away as much as they used to, but I hate having to feel the threat of loosing our program every time I want to stay and do an 11am OR case when I'm post call and am forced to go home.

I think everyone is in favor of some limitations, some days off, but its naturally going to be harder for specialties like surgery, especially at busy underserved hospitals to meet these requirements.

Yes, the hospital should hire people to help with some scut, but, come on, that's not hapening anywhere is it? So residents have to do the scut, they have no choice, and if they're surgery residents, no amount of skut will keep them from wanting to operate whenever they get a chance, even if that means going over 80 hours. The hospitals and the residency programs affiliated with them seem to be two completely separate entities and the hospitals aren't doing anything to make this transition to the hour limits easier - and they'll be sorry if they ultimately lose out on their free laborers when he residency programs get shut down for violations.