Can someone confirm this please!!!

[davito]

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Is it true that student doctors sleep an average of 3-4 hours every day during their recidency? If it is true how do they do it?

 

[Raryn]

Is it true that student doctors sleep an average of 3-4 hours every day during their recidency? If it is true how do they do it?

Its not exactly true, at least not anymore.

Within the last few years, laws have been passed limiting residents to working 80 hour weeks (as averaged over four weeks) and shifts can no longer be more than 30 hours in length (the last six hours of which you cannot get any new patients).

Given theres 168 hours in a week, if you're working 80 hour weeks you can probably AVERAGE a decent amount of sleep, but the issue would be that a good portion of the time you might be working nights or a long shift.

And how they do it? They get through it because they have to. Even when there were some insane programs that were averaging over 100+ hours a week (some surgery programs are/were nuts), people got through it. I doubt many people enjoy residency, but I think they would enjoy it far less if it were made "easier" and say, two or three years longer.

 

[Kaustikos]

Its not exactly true, at least not anymore.

Within the last few years, laws have been passed limiting residents to working 80 hour weeks (as averaged over four weeks) and shifts can no longer be more than 30 hours in length (the last six hours of which you cannot get any new patients).

Given theres 168 hours in a week, if you're working 80 hour weeks you can probably AVERAGE a decent amount of sleep, but the issue would be that a good portion of the time you might be working nights or a long shift.

And how they do it? They get through it because they have to. Even when there were some insane programs that were averaging over 100+ hours a week (some surgery programs are/were nuts), people got through it. I doubt many people enjoy residency, but I think they would enjoy it far less if it were made "easier" and say, two or three years longer.

Im not saying what I do is even close to the level of work residents do, but the work I do between both jobs I have averages about 65-80 hours sometimes and leaves me with little sleep which I have gotten used to. I don't know if it's that or something else, but I want tosay that being used to it is what helps?😕

 

[AnotherDork]

Is it true that student doctors sleep an average of 3-4 hours every day during their recidency? If it is true how do they do it?

I believe you're thinking about nights on overnight call- during their busiest months, residents will work overnight every 3rd or 4th night (if you see q3 or q4 on these boards, that's what it means), and during those nights, it's not uncommon to get 3-4 hours of sleep (or less) in between getting paged. The other days, you'll usually get out around 5 or 6pm and you can go home and get a decent night's sleep.

 

[savant]

 

[davito]

Im not saying what I do is even close to the level of work residents do, but the work I do between both jobs I have averages about 65-80 hours sometimes and leaves me with little sleep which I have gotten used to. I don't know if it's that or something else, but I want tosay that being used to it is what helps?😕

Ok, so you usually sleep an average of 4 hours a day?

 

[UVAbme2009]

Before this week, I slept 4-5 hours a day for around two weeks. I made it. It would be hard doing that for longer periods of time. You just have to get little power naps in whenever you can.

 

[davito]

Its not exactly true, at least not anymore.

Within the last few years, laws have been passed limiting residents to working 80 hour weeks (as averaged over four weeks) and shifts can no longer be more than 30 hours in length (the last six hours of which you cannot get any new patients).

Given theres 168 hours in a week, if you're working 80 hour weeks you can probably AVERAGE a decent amount of sleep, but the issue would be that a good portion of the time you might be working nights or a long shift.

And how they do it? They get through it because they have to. Even when there were some insane programs that were averaging over 100+ hours a week (some surgery programs are/were nuts), people got through it. I doubt many people enjoy residency, but I think they would enjoy it far less if it were made "easier" and say, two or three years longer.

Ok, So what amount of hours a day recidents doctors sleep?

 

[Bradstein]

How many hours does the average college student sleep? How many hours does the average dog sleep? If God could make a burrito so hot even he couldn't eat it, how many hours would he sleep?

Who knows, man. It depends on what residency program, what field, etc. etc. Some days you are on call so you might not sleep at all, and the next day you'll crash for 12 hours.

 

[LizzyM]

Residents hours are capped at 80. In fields where call means being up all night (internal medicine), it can mean working from 6 a.m. one day until Noon the day, (30 hours), 8 a.m. to 6 pm the next day (10 hours) and the day after that (10 hours), another overnight (30 hours) and then a day off. So, there might be 2 days a week when you are lucky to catch a couple of hours of shut eye in the on call room but there are days when you can catch up.


Keep in mind that 60 years ago, residency meant that you were literally a "resident" at the hospital. You lived there, you ate your meals there in the doctors' dining room or cafeteria, and you sent your white jackets and pants to the hospital laundry. It was rare for a resident to be married (you couldn't afford to support two people on the stipend). What did you have to do except work? It was also far less busy because a large proportion of the patients were convalescing (heart attack patients were put to bed for a few weeks, new mothers & babies stayed 5-7 days) so many of the patients needed very little medical attention unlike these days.

 

[Revilla]

Residents hours are capped at 80. In fields where call means being up all night (internal medicine), it can mean working from 6 a.m. one day until Noon the day, (30 hours), 8 a.m. to 6 pm the next day (10 hours) and the day after that (10 hours), another overnight (30 hours) and then a day off. So, there might be 2 days a week when you are lucky to catch a couple of hours of shut eye in the on call room but there are days when you can catch up.


Keep in mind that 60 years ago, residency meant that you were literally a "resident" at the hospital. You lived there, you ate your meals there in the doctors' dining room or cafeteria, and you sent your white jackets and pants to the hospital laundry. It was rare for a resident to be married (you couldn't afford to support two people on the stipend). What did you have to do except work? It was also far less busy because a large proportion of the patients were convalescing (heart attack patients were put to bed for a few weeks, new mothers & babies stayed 5-7 days) so many of the patients needed very little medical attention unlike these days.

Lizzy, you probably know this. There were some rumbles a few months ago about changing residency work hours to where it was required that residents take a five-hour break after every 16 hours on duty. What was that about?

 

[saveourpens]

Gee an 80 hour limit! how great... I love how some think working this much is simply normal for a resident and just one of the steps towards becoming a doc.

Only in the US does the public have this type of attitude...one of the many reasons we're the only country in the industrialized world to not have any federally mandated vacations. what a joke

 

[Kaustikos]

Ok, so you usually sleep an average of 4 hours a day?

This year? Yes. From researching/studying and teaching I have way too much to do and not enough time to do it🙁
Fine, the weekend allows me 8hrs for saturday/sunday.




(I'm a workaholic)

 

[Kaustikos]

Residents hours are capped at 80. In fields where call means being up all night (internal medicine), it can mean working from 6 a.m. one day until Noon the day, (30 hours), 8 a.m. to 6 pm the next day (10 hours) and the day after that (10 hours), another overnight (30 hours) and then a day off. So, there might be 2 days a week when you are lucky to catch a couple of hours of shut eye in the on call room but there are days when you can catch up.


Keep in mind that 60 years ago, residency meant that you were literally a "resident" at the hospital. You lived there, you ate your meals there in the doctors' dining room or cafeteria, and you sent your white jackets and pants to the hospital laundry. It was rare for a resident to be married (you couldn't afford to support two people on the stipend). What did you have to do except work? It was also far less busy because a large proportion of the patients were convalescing (heart attack patients were put to bed for a few weeks, new mothers & babies stayed 5-7 days) so many of the patients needed very little medical attention unlike these days.

And here I thought it was an attempt ot become a resident of that state