Quote:
Originally Posted by gtscayman
I never could quite figure out the medical profession, and a few others, that pull these long stints as a routine. It's long been proven that efficiency goes down, and mistakes go up after a reasonable period of work (ie. 40hr/wk, 50, 60, etc). Maybe this doesn't apply to the medical types but I highly doubt it. What gives? Is the 'old boys' train of thought ('I trained that way so the young ones are going to suffer for it too, by gum'). Not being sarcastic with this but there has to be some reason for this - lack of staff? Compressed training? No life outside of work? (well, ok, that last one is tongue in cheek!)  |
gtscayman, where were you when I was doing my residency? I could've used you to stick up for me!
You're absolutely right about the drop in efficiency and productivity after long hours. You're also right about the ol' boys train of thought and the lack of staffing. Doctors in training are indentured servants. Why pay for 3 doctors doing three 8 hour shifts when you can have one do a 24hr shift?
In fact, they are one of the primary reasons why academic medical centers can make money. However, to be fair, alot has changed in the last few years with an 80hour work week limit imposed on all physician residency programs to reduce medical errors. What will be interesting to see is if this "new" gentler approach to training doctors turn out equally hi quality physicians? Early reports do not support that notion. I think most people can understand that generally, the more experience you accumulate during training, the better a physician you become. Unfortunately, experience comes from long, long hours. Sort of a Catch-22. Okay, digression and venting completed.