Overworked residents in hospitals can make deadly errors
As a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer I estimate that 40% of my cases are related to care given by hospital residents. Most of us know from experience and common sense that people that are tired make more mistakes. The aviation industry has long had rules in place to limit the amount of flying a pilot can do without sufficient sleep. By law truck drivers must get off the road after a certain number of hours driving. But for some reason hospitals continue to make residents work as much as 30 hours without a break. A new study sheds light on the deadly consequences of this practice:
"Medical residents are routinely scheduled to work shifts that last 24 hours or more, yet a study out today suggests that these sleep-deprived doctors are at high risk of making medical mistakes that can harm or even kill patients. 'Working for more than 24 hours is hazardous,' says sleep researcher Charles Czeisler at the Harvard Medical School. Scores of studies show that people who stay awake for 18 hours straight can have trouble thinking clearly and can zone out or nod off suddenly. In July 2003, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, a Chicago group that accredits medical residency programs, limited work schedules to no more than 80 hours in a week. But the rules still allow marathon shifts that last up to 30 hours."Kathleen Fackelmann, USA Today, 12/11/06
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2006-12-11-sleep-study_x.htm
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