The Phantom Menace of Sleep Deprived Doctors

[colcifer]

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/07/ma...mid=tw-nytimes

[Longhair]

16 hours straight is still a long time to be working without expecting someone to make mistakes. Chances of them going straight home to sleep are also slim to none.

[DigMe]

The 2003 80 hour a week law was instated the year before my wife started residency. I remember hearing that Johns Hopkins had one of their residency programs either closed or suspended for breaking that law.

bc

[VincentSalizeri]

Very interesting topic. When watching a lot of those medical shows (the documentaries too, not just 'House') I'd always wonder how they'd be able to keep going that long, when I can barely deal with an 8-hour night shift. It's good that they want to tone it down a bit, though as the article mentioned, there are other things that could use some work too. I don't expect doctors to perform flawlessly all the time, but anything that brings down the amount of mistakes is good in my book.

[colcifer]

Another article on the effects of discontinuity of medical care: amednews: Study casts doubt on effectiveness of hospitalist care :: Aug. 5, 2011 ... American Medical News.