Delivering quality heath care hinges, in part, on medical residents receiving a good night's sleep, according to research by the Institute of Medicine. Inexperienced doctors who are overworked can put a patient's safety at risk.
"[This] study provides the clear evidence to prove what we have long-believed is true -- fatigue increases the chance for human error," says Dr. Carolyn Clancy, director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, which funded the research.
Medical residents typically work a maximum average of 80 hours per week. To combat sleep deprivation among newly minted physicians, IOM recommends that residents either work an uninterrupted 16-hour shift treating patients or a 30-hour shift that would include a five-hour break after working 16 hours.
The research report also advises against residents moonlighting beyond the 80-hour weekly limit, citing that the extra shifts affect strategically planned periods for rest and sleep.
"Health care facilities can create safer conditions within the existing 80-hour limit by providing residents regular opportunities for sleep and limiting extended periods of work without rest," says Michael M.E. Johns, IOM committee chair and chancellor at Emory University. "But these steps should be supplemented by additional efforts to improve patient safety and ensure residents get the full experience they need to safely and competently practice medicine at the end of their training," he adds.
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