Residents' hours

[Crazy Carl]

There's an article on CNN today about the issue of resident work hours and how the AMA is about to address it at their national meeting this weekend. It's not very long or descriptive, but it's an interesting topic. It sounds to me like the president is supportive of changing the current practice (as he should be, in my opinion). Does anyone else think it's a step in the right direction?

http://www.cnn.com/2001/HEALTH/06/15/residents.hours/index.html

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[Toadkiller Dog]

Ha!

I am literally laughing out loud at this statement from the article:

"Residents' long hours can endanger patients, critics charge. A recent article in the journal "Nature" found that staying awake for 24 hours impairs cognitive and motor performance to the same degree as having a blood alcohol level of 0.1 percent, above the legal driving limit in many states."

Or how about this one:

"Jaya Agrawal, president of the American Medical Student Association, said the hours can also endanger the residents themselves. She cited a recent survey that found six of seven residents said they had fallen asleep while driving home"

Definitely a step in the right direction. Will it lead to any action which will help any future doctor currently over the age of 6? Doubtful.

There is also an excellent article (a published paper, apparently) on that page. The link is:
http://www.citizen.org/hrg/PUBLICATIONS/1570.htm

 

[Winged Scapula]

Obviously any improvement in residency hours would be a step in the right direction. However, the end of that road, an appropriate resolution to the problem is a LONG way away.

An even bigger problem is the lack of enforcement when rules restricting resident work hours are made. One only needs to look at the "shining" example of NY to see that government regulations aren't helping the residents or the patients.

BTW, I'll move this to Rotations and Residencies where it might get more action.