Are work-hour limits good for patients and physicians? 9 things to know

Some new physicians are taking on 30-hour work shifts at U.S. hospitals as part of a research project led by the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, according to a report from The Washington Post.

Here are nine things to know about the project.

1. The $9 million project is being funded, in part, by the National Institutes of Health.

2. It is designed to test work-hour limits that were imposed in 2011 due to fears that inexperienced, sleep-deprived physicians might put patients at risk, according to the report. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education banned 30-hour work shifts for all trainees that year and limited work hours for first-year physicians to 16 hours consecutively, with a few minor exceptions.

3. The ultimate idea with the project is to determine the foremost way to train novice physicians and still maintain patient care.

4. The study involves 6,000 internal medicine trainees at 63 programs nationwide.

5. Participants in the study include about 2,400 first-year physicians, as well as second- and third-year physicians.

6. In the study, 31 programs will abide by current rules on resident work hours, according to the report. First-year trainees have a 16-hour limit, while second- and third-year physicians are restricted to 24 consecutive hours of work. The report also notes residents are not allowed to work more than 80 hours each week, must have one day off every seven days and may not work overnight more often than every three days — all averaged over one month.

7. With 32 programs in the study, directors who schedule residents' work hours must adhere to most of the same rules as the other 31 programs, according to The Washington Post. However, new physicians in those 32 programs are allowed to work as long as 30 hours consecutively or, in rare cases, even more, the report notes.

8. According to The Washington Post, critics of the study, including some new physicians, argue exhausted physicians can make errors that cost lives. But, according to the report, researchers and some experts contend limiting work hours forces more patient handoffs between physicians, which pose more danger than leaving patients in the care of sleep-deprived physicians.

9. The study began July 1, and results are expected in 2019.

 

More articles on integration and physician issues:

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