My longest
episode without sleep was an intern call where I got no rest
for 36 hours. Nearly went into the center divider driving back to my
apartment. Hope my overnight admission orders didn't kill anyone.
So what does this hazing accomplish, beyond it being 'tradition'?
I worked at the Medical College of Wisconsin for a few years, and I never
understood why they do this to interns.
The resident work hours law, which was only incompletely implemented when
I was an intern, has helped this somewhat (but some places still operate in
flagrant violation).
That said, I don't think that there should be significant further reductions
or true shift work. Maybe I'm already in get-off-my-lawn mode, but I'm
probably more old-fashioned than the rest of my generation, and I think that
overnight work -- with a reasonable cap, and the cap is currently 30 hours
or less with an overnight break -- reinforces ownership of the case. You
don't just write orders with an eye to hand the crap you couldn't finish off
to the day guy; you try to solve the patient's problems because they are your
problems and the patient doesn't get better unless you, Dr. First Year Intern,
do something about it.
The current emphasis towards shift work and a "team" approach actually
probably makes lazy doctors. Just my two cents, but most of the nurses said
I was kind of a cowboy as a resident anyway. I still have that tendency.
Still, it's better than it was before.
--
------------------------------------ personal:
http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ --
Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems *
www.floodgap.com * ckaiser at
floodgap.com
-- Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. -- M. L. King, Jr. ---
