The Phantom Menace of Sleep Deprived Doctors

[charityfundraiser]

The Phantom Menace of Sleep Deprived Doctors
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/07/m...of-sleep-deprived-doctors.html?pagewanted=all

But all of these hospital reforms ignore what may be the biggest problem in physician training today: the yawning chasm between what most doctors learn during the 80 hours a week they spend training in hospitals and what they actually do after leaving their residencies. Defenders of the old-school way argue that the demands of medical practice justify the brutal hours. But after their residencies, most doctors practice in outpatient settings and work regular daytime hours as members of large groups. They treat chronic problems that need weeks or months of periodic outpatient follow-up, not high-intensity hospital-based care lasting only a few days.

 

[Nielk]

I have been witness to a number of mistakes done by overworked insomniac residents in teaching hospitals. It is a big disgrace besides being really dangerous for the patient. I had a son many years ago in the hospital for 17 weeks straight and wouldn't leave his bedside because of the mistakes I saw there. It is not the fault of the residents. It's the whole system that needs to be changed.

 

[Snow Leopard]

What changes do you propose, besides an upper limit on the amount of hours worked?

 

[Nielk]

I definitely propose a limit of hours on call. When they are lacking sleep from working straight over 48 hours how accurate can they be with their treatment? It's similar to being drunk. Would one want a drunk doctor treating them? Hospitals have become very dangerous places.

 

[Enid]

Yes I agree the whole system needs to be changed (I recall the impossible hours whilst 4 Docs in my own family were in training for starters) they are not supermen.