22 Apr
2011
22 Apr
'11
3:27 p.m.
On 22 Apr 2011 at 15:07, Brian L. Stuart wrote:
I also don't want to defend it all, and I would
suspect
that there's a better way to do it, but there is one other
benefit I see to the forced endurance. If I have a surgeon
doing an 8, 10, or 12 hour procedure on me, I like the
idea that the length of time that person needs to be focused
and alert is much shorter than the lengths of time that
person was dealing with more typical cases during their
internship.
Also, I suspect that when it comes to the question of
accuracy and judgement during long shifts, there are
probably bigger factors than just time awake. I learned
early on that my coding ability isn't a monotonically
decreasing function of time since last sleep.
Would you make the same argument for airline crews? Or flight
controllers? Or are those "too" risky--if someone zones out because
of fatigue, hudreds could die, but there's only a single life at
stake in medical procedures?
Makes me feel a lot better...
--Chuck