ACGME Duty Hours violation?

[Winged Scapula]

True. I think he means the interval scheme a lot if us lived through, though.

Perhaps although I'm aware that a lot of the young'uns didn't understand that we weren't necessarily going home at 7 AM post call back in the day or that q2 call existed.

Strange as it sounds, the 30ish hour shifts with post call days and an 80ish hour average week that some of us endured turns out to be a lot more desirable if not humane than the current set ups. Night float is only a good idea on paper. Working at night 6 out if 7 days and trying to switch back is brutal. And 30 hour max shifts are much better than 24 because you max out your 80 hours in fewer shifts with fewer sign outs. I feel for the current interns.

Having never done night float I can't speak to that from experience but I can imagine it would be pretty bad switching back-and-forth.

30 hour shifts were definitely an improvement over the "you'll go home when I say so" regime.

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[RadOncDoc21]

By no means would I consider myself an "ol timer" but I have experienced the post-call q3 shifts along with night float. I preferred the long shifts due to consistent patient care and having the post-call day to take care of normal everyday things like going to the bank or DMV.

 

[KnuxNole]

Back in the day, that would be a wimpy schedule for a internal medicine resident, and would be an absolute vacation compared to the typical surgery schedule

Which is one of the many reasons why I'm thankful not to be in a surgical residency

 

[DermViser]

"Old school" didn't have post call days. You stayed post call just like everyone else until the end of the day (whenever that was).

What?!?!

 

[Winged Scapula]

What?!?!

Yep.

One of my favorite rotations as an intern was CT surgery because although it was q2 in-house call, you got to go home post call. That was the only reason, otherwise I hated that rotation.

The rest of the rotations you stayed until the end of the day just like all the other residents. That could mean being in the hospital for 36 to 40 hours. My longest stretch was 43 hours. Thats just the way it was back then although occasionally you would get a nice resident, fellow, or attending who would either let you go to the call room and sleep or send you home.

One of my chiefs who most of us, including the attending's despised, was famous for telling us that he was going to go home and have dinner with his girlfriend and that he would come back to do evening rounds whenever he was ready and that we had to wait for him to return. It would generally be 9 o'clock or so when he would return.

 

[DermViser]

Yep.

One of my favorite rotations as an intern was CT surgery because although it was q2 in-house call, you got to go home post call. That was the only reason, otherwise I hated that rotation.

The rest of the rotations you stayed until the end of the day just like all the other residents. That could mean being in the hospital for 36 to 40 hours. My longest stretch was 43 hours. Thats just the way it was back then although occasionally you would get a nice resident, fellow, or attending who would either let you go to the call room and sleep or send you home.

One of my chiefs who most of us, including the attending's despised, was famous for telling us that he was going to go home and have dinner with his girlfriend and that he would come back to do evening rounds whenever he was ready and that we had to wait for him to return. It would generally be 9 o'clock or so when he would return.

I don't know what I hate more -- the absolute taking advantage of doctors by making them stay awake for 36-40 hours at a stretch or your chief (I guess since he was in his last year, the attendings couldn't do anything to him).

 

[Winged Scapula]

I don't know what I hate more -- the absolute taking advantage of doctors by making them stay awake for 36-40 hours at a stretch or your chief (I guess since he was in his last year, the attendings couldn't do anything to him).

Well he sort of got his comeuppance; a few years later when he finished his fellowship and applied for a job at our hospital he was roundly denied because he wasn't liked by anyone.

 

[Danbo1957]

30 hour shifts were definitely an improvement over the "you'll go home when I say so" regime.

Or, as I've said about my 1986-87 IM intern year: you simply don't go home for a week. Wimps.

 

[SoyMilk]

Perhaps I'm in the minority here... but medicine is changing (culture and economics). The training should reflect that. Given the $hitfest the new generation is walking into the training should be less malignant.

 

[Law2Doc]

Perhaps I'm in the minority here... but medicine is changing (culture and economics). The training should reflect that. Given the $hitfest the new generation is walking into the training should be less malignant.

Actually as more and more attending emerge into bad markets and are generally less happy with their careers, one would expect things to get more malignant for those working under them, no?
$&@! always runs downhill.

 

[Mass Effect]

It's still a wimpy schedule....

Having 0 full days off?

 

[rokshana]

Having 0 full days off?

what? that schedule had 1 in SIX off….the ACGME rule is 1 in 7…and it was only 12 hours a day….