Question about Hours

[voirlesetoiles]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I'm a premed student applying in this year's cycle. I've been told it's way too early for me to even think about residency, but I have been researching general information to understand what I'm getting into - the pros and the cons.

A doctor I shadowed told me that she used to work 7a-7p (36 hour shifts) when she did her residency. Do residents get any sleep during this time period? Or is a continuous patient contact situation? (I didn't want to press her for information, but these questions have been tossing around in my head for a while!)

I have heard that Internal Medicine is one of the more demanding residencies in terms of hours and that residencies like Dermatology are very competitive due to their relatively lower hours. Is this correct?

I am familiar about the types of residencies and application process, but I don't know much about what the hours or what exactly goes on during shifts (ie sleep, amount of work, etc). Any comments are appreciated. Thanks!!

 

[colbgw02]

I'm sure a google search could find the official work hour regulations.

Residents are not allowed to work more than 30 hours continuously. We're not allowed to be on in-house call for more than 24 straight hours, with the additional 6 hours devoted to follow-up care of patients already under your care.

Sleep varies greatly depending on the service and the number of admissions you get. Many nights you will not get any sleep. On occasion you will get ~6 hours, but 1-3 hours of very interrupted sleep is the norm.

 

[voirlesetoiles]

🙂 Muchos gracias!

 

[colbgw02]

🙂 Muchos gracias!

De nada, pero se dice muchAs gracias.

 

[Winged Scapula]

The physician you spoke with likely trained in an era before work hour restrictions.

That said, there are programs, rotations and occasional busy days in which you *may* violate those work hour restrictions. It would be a mistake to assume that just because there are regulations that all hospitals or programs follow them. Most do make an honest effort to follow the rules, IMHO, but you have a responsibility to make sure your superiors know when you are approaching work hour limits.

The hours worked does vary from specialty to specialty as well - any field with in house call can expect to log more work hours than those that don't (such as Derm, Rad Onc, etc.). Fields like IM, Rads (in a hospital with a busy ED or Trauma center), Surgery and the Surgery subspecialties like Ortho and Neurosurg are going to take more in-house call. HOWEVER, bear in mind that while a Derm or Rad Onc resident may not approach 80 hrs in hospital, they spend a lot of time outside the hospital reading/studying. It would be a mistake not to include that when considering how busy you are as a resident.

Sleep times while in house call varies again...and there seems to be no rhyme or reason. I've had nights where I never saw the call room and others where I didn't get a single call between midnight and 6 am. You will get more calls at the beginning of your residency largely because your orders are not clear or detailed enough. As a senior or Chief resident who may be taking home call, you will get more calls at the beginning of the year when you have nervous juniors in house. I frankly got less sleep as a Chief resident than I did when I took in-house call as a 4th year. At any rate, there are so many variables to factor in here, that it makes it practically impossible to estimate how much sleep you'll get. Count on getting none and being sleep deprived and you may be pleasantly suprised.