I wanted to post this comment from that link to your blog:
"I graduated with an MD/PhD in neuroscience and I started my training in neurosurgery in Philadelphia in 1998 prior to the new policy limiting resident hours. At the time, I was 32yrs old with 2 young children (2yrs & 6mos old). I worked the 120hr weeks at a very active trauma center and spent all night up, every other night, caring for patients and often didnt sign out post-call until 10p (still no sleep) having to then go to medical records to dictate charts for a couple of more hours just to get unsuspended for the next day. Id get home by midnight and have to be up at 4am to return for the next day. After a couple of months of that physical and pyschological torture, I became more and more depressed, angry all the time from being yelled at by nurses and attendings and myself yelling at nurses, patients, and med students. I increasingly found myself crying in the call room alone and feeling helpless and hopeless. By 6 months into my internship, I had hardly ever seen my children awake and my wife felt I was becoming more and more distant. One night during a particularly brutal call, I found myself facing a list of ~65 patients for whom I only had a name, room number and diagnosis and a beeper that wouldnt stop going off. That night I felt like there were 2 ways out one was off the roof of the hospital and the other was out the front door. Thank God I had the strength to choose the front door. That day I quit and never returned and I have never regretted that decision which saved both my life and my family. I re-matched in Pediatrics and completed my medical training thankful for only having to work 80hr weeks (imagine that?!). I still get emotional recounting those difficult times. Was it necessary to make me work 80-120hrs in order for me to become a good physician absolutely NOT. It dehumanized me and I can assure you that patients dont benefit from the care of dehumanized physicians. How can you care for someone else if you cant even care for yourself? Forget 24hrs, NOBODY should be expected to work longer than 12 continuous hours with full days off during each 7 day period. Anything else is INHUMANE and unecessary and benefits nobody. As dramatic as my story may sound, it is hardly unique. Im glad there has been some progress with this very important issue, but there is much, much more to accomplish and I salute those making a stand."
Now 120 hours is indeed brutal. It explains why those surgeons, such as NS, appear so robot-like. If they are going to decrease the hours more, that's fine. But they should not extend the number of years it takes to finish residency. As you say, it is better to make the experience more efficient rather than more lengthy. At the same time, if this guy didn't have family and kids, he would probably be able to better handle his residency. But given the amount of time it takes to finish med school and residency, sometimes it is not as easy to postpone having a family. I think instead of decreasing the 80 hour shifts, they should cut the duration of residencies by a year or two. If the cut from 120 to 80 hours (that's 1/3) without having to increase residency durations didn't affect the quality of doctors being created, I think that we could do the same cut, but this time in years, rather than hours.