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March 4th, 2003, 21:07
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United States limits resident physicians to 80 hour working week
The Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education will limit the work of resident physicians to 80 hours a week starting in July, 2003. Shifts are never to last more than 24 hours, and residents will have one day off in seven and get a 10 hour break between being on call and working a shift. Consumer and resident doctor groups are skeptical that the rules will be enforced. Comment: many hospitals use medical students and residents as cheap labor (I've been there). The rationalization has been that students learn better if they observe a patient over 36 hours straight rather than just 24. This has always been a bogus argument, since students and residents take care of several patients and do not simply sit at the beside and observe a single patient. Another argument, and one that makes some sense, is that in emergency situations, a doctor may be called upon to provide his or her help in odd hours or after an extended period of no sleep. Thus, learning to deal with interrupted sleep or no sleep at all during residency and medical school provides an essential learning experience. [ bmj.com Hopkins Tanne 326 (7387): 468b ]
Last edited by sysadmin : March 4th, 2003 at 21:07.
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