Exceeding Work Limits

A large percentage of first-year medical residents exceeded limits on their work hours intended to reduce fatigue-related medical errors, according to a survey conducted by Harvard Medical School researchers. Violations were reported by residents working at 15 of 16 Massachusetts teaching hospitals.

The study found that 84 percent of 1,278 first-year residents surveyed reported at least one violation in the year after the rules were adopted in July 2003 by the national organization that oversees graduate medical education.

The rules limit residents to working 30 consecutive hours and an average of 80 hours a week, and require them to have an average of one day off every seven days.

Let's just say that when I was a resident, 80 hours a week would have been a part time job to me...

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