Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

The 80 hour resident work week balances fatigue and independence

Danielle Ofri, MD, PhD
Education
August 12, 2010
Share
Tweet
Share

How many hours can a doctor work?

The residency regulators are back. About ten years ago, the national organization that accredits residency programs (ACGME) set out its first guidelines about how many hours a doctor-in-training can work. Interns and residents finally achieved the vaunted 80-hour workweek. New York State was 15 years ahead on this, having mandated an 80-hour work week in 1989, stemming from the Libby Zion case.

Every patient wants a doctor who is well rested and alert, but limiting residents to 80 hours per week wasn’t as simple a panacea as it seemed, as I wrote in an editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine shortly after the ACGME regulations were issued.

Practical issues abounded, mainly concerning the increased number of hand-offs required, as patients had to be cycled between teams of doctors. Less quantifiable, though no less concerning, was the inevitable progression toward “shift-mentality” and a decrease in professionalism.

In fact, the 80-hour workweek did not decrease errors and did not increase sleep time for the doctors. The ACGME has recognized this and has now issued a new report. In essence, they have admitted what all of us who teach new doctors already know, that medicine is far too complex to apply simple formulas. What really helps doctors-in-training practice good medicine, decrease errors, and maintain a high standard of professionalism is good supervision.

It might seem like stating the obvious, but fresh-off-the-boat interns need near-total supervision. These eager new doctors were medical students just an eye-blink ago, and a parchment diploma did not ratchet up their clinical skills overnight. A good supervisor needs to watch closely and teach intensively during this early period.

Over the next several years, as the residents gain skill and confidence, supervisors can ease back, offering more opportunities for independent decision-making. The overall thrust is that the quality of medicine delivered by residency training programs depends heavily on the quality and quantity of supervision provided.

The changes in this area are palpable. When I did my medical residency training almost twenty years ago, senior physicians (attendings) were barely present. The attending showed up once a day to see all the newly admitted patients during an “attending rounds” session, and then returned to his or her private practice. We were on our own for the rest of the patients’ care, even if it lasted weeks.

Now, I am an attending at the very same hospital, but the model is entirely different. When I spend a month supervising a team on the medical wards, I am there full-time. We still have that attending rounds session to talk about new admissions, but we also have the rest of the day. I don’t follow two steps behind my residents and interns every waking moment, but we talk constantly during the day. I also examine the patients independently to make my own clinical assessment. We work as a team six days per week and I can be reasonably sure that we are all on the same page with the patients’ care.

Do errors still happen? Are residents still exhausted? Yes, and yes. But I do think patient care is better for it.

The trick now is to teach them independence and to foster the do-whatever-it-takes-for-your-patients credo that suffused my training years. Not to mention the joys and rewards of medicine.

But that can be done in 80 hours, or at least I am hoping so.

Danielle Ofri is an internal medicine physician and author of What Doctors Feel: How Emotions Affect the Practice of Medicine.

ADVERTISEMENT

Prev

Medicare needs to take the lead for health care cost control

August 12, 2010 Kevin 2
…
Next

Why DTC drug marketing still clings to TV

August 13, 2010 Kevin 2
…

Tagged as: Hospital-Based Medicine, Residency

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Medicare needs to take the lead for health care cost control
Next Post >
Why DTC drug marketing still clings to TV

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Danielle Ofri, MD, PhD

  • Getting an appointment with primary care is the Achilles’ heel of medicine

    Danielle Ofri, MD, PhD
  • Emotional epidemiology of disease is as critical as clinical epidemiology

    Danielle Ofri, MD, PhD
  • Does the EMR improve or worsen patient safety?

    Danielle Ofri, MD, PhD

More in Education

  • Why clinical research is a powerful path for unmatched IMGs

    Dr. Khutaija Noor
  • Dear July intern: It’s normal to feel clueless—here’s what matters

    Tomi Mitchell, MD
  • Why medical schools must ditch lectures and embrace active learning

    Arlen Meyers, MD, MBA
  • Why helping people means more than getting an MD

    Vaishali Jha
  • Residency match tips: Building mentorship, research, and community

    Simran Kaur, MD and Eva Shelton, MD
  • How I learned to stop worrying and love AI

    Rajeev Dutta
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • Why specialist pain clinics and addiction treatment services require strong primary care

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Conditions
    • When a medical office sublease turns into a legal nightmare

      Ralph Messo, DO | Physician
    • Addressing menstrual health inequities in adolescents

      Callia Georgoulis | Conditions
    • How early meetings and after-hours events penalize physician-mothers

      Samira Jeimy, MD, PhD and Menaka Pai, MD | Physician
    • FDA delays could end vital treatment for rare disease patients

      GJ van Londen, MD | Meds
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
  • Recent Posts

    • Why more doctors are leaving clinical practice and how it helps health care

      Arlen Meyers, MD, MBA | Physician
    • Harassment and overreach are driving physicians to quit

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician
    • Why regular exercise is the best prescription for lifelong health

      George F. Smith, MD | Conditions
    • When the weight won’t budge: the hidden physiology of grief, stress, and set point

      Sarah White, APRN | Conditions
    • Why starting with why can transform your medical practice

      Neil Baum, MD | Physician
    • Why your most heroic act might be in a department meeting [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 13 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • Why specialist pain clinics and addiction treatment services require strong primary care

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Conditions
    • When a medical office sublease turns into a legal nightmare

      Ralph Messo, DO | Physician
    • Addressing menstrual health inequities in adolescents

      Callia Georgoulis | Conditions
    • How early meetings and after-hours events penalize physician-mothers

      Samira Jeimy, MD, PhD and Menaka Pai, MD | Physician
    • FDA delays could end vital treatment for rare disease patients

      GJ van Londen, MD | Meds
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
  • Recent Posts

    • Why more doctors are leaving clinical practice and how it helps health care

      Arlen Meyers, MD, MBA | Physician
    • Harassment and overreach are driving physicians to quit

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician
    • Why regular exercise is the best prescription for lifelong health

      George F. Smith, MD | Conditions
    • When the weight won’t budge: the hidden physiology of grief, stress, and set point

      Sarah White, APRN | Conditions
    • Why starting with why can transform your medical practice

      Neil Baum, MD | Physician
    • Why your most heroic act might be in a department meeting [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

The 80 hour resident work week balances fatigue and independence
13 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...