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Here is a bit of survey on the topic from April of 2013: https://psnet.ahrq.gov/perspectives/perspective/140/are-residency-duty-hour-rules-improving-patient-sa

by jrowley 10y ago

Here is a bit of survey on the topic from April of 2013: https://psnet.ahrq.gov/perspectives/perspective/140/are-residency-duty-hour-rules-improving-patient-safety https://psnet.ahrq.gov/perspectives/perspective/140/are-resi... Key finding: "In summary, the literature still does not definitively tell us whether limiting duty hours improves patient safety."

mattkrause 10y ago
I would argue that the literature is basically worthless here, because they're mostly looking at modulations around an absolutely ridiculous baseline. The 2003 changes dropped hours DOWN to 80/week and 16 or 28 per shift. As an analogy, imagine reducing your cheeseburger intake from 60 per week to 40 per week: it probably won't have a huge impact on physical fitness. The hand-off issue is also weird because it's at least theoretically improvable, whereas there's no real way (barring go-pills) to reduce sleep-related issues.