Jaime Marks -- I walk into the Student Government office on autopilot. Leslie asks me if I am all right, but I only half hear her. My comprehension skills are clearly impaired. Apparently I stumble as I turn to ask her to repeat herself, which prompts her to joke that I would miserably fail a sobriety test. She is probably right, but not because I was intoxicated. I would fail because I was sleep deprived.
With only 3 hours the night before and 15 minutes that night, I was feeling and acting as if I had just tossed backed more than a few drinks. Fortunately, I had made it through the test that caused the loss of sleep before the effects had taken hold. But now I wasn't thinking clearly as hard as I tried. I tell Leslie that I really hope that I am never this tired when I have a patient's life at stake, because I fear I could easily make a mistake that would be detrimental or even deadly.
Some states have limited residency work hours to 80 hours per week. I have heard on more than one occasion that this restriction may not allow for enough training in some specialties, especially surgery. While I can certainly understand that our surgeons need to be very well-trained and they have much to learn, I still think the 80 hour cap is absolutely necessary. Not only is it beneficial to the residents' well-being, but it protects the patients from tired physicians' mistakes.
I think that a work hour limitation should be placed on all residency programs in all states. That's just what I think as a very tired student who dreads the thought of making a mistake just because I wasn't able to get a few hours of sleep the night before. Perhaps current residents, physicians, nurses and patients have a different view. Should we be sacrificing training hours for sleep?
With only 3 hours the night before and 15 minutes that night, I was feeling and acting as if I had just tossed backed more than a few drinks. Fortunately, I had made it through the test that caused the loss of sleep before the effects had taken hold. But now I wasn't thinking clearly as hard as I tried. I tell Leslie that I really hope that I am never this tired when I have a patient's life at stake, because I fear I could easily make a mistake that would be detrimental or even deadly.
Some states have limited residency work hours to 80 hours per week. I have heard on more than one occasion that this restriction may not allow for enough training in some specialties, especially surgery. While I can certainly understand that our surgeons need to be very well-trained and they have much to learn, I still think the 80 hour cap is absolutely necessary. Not only is it beneficial to the residents' well-being, but it protects the patients from tired physicians' mistakes.
I think that a work hour limitation should be placed on all residency programs in all states. That's just what I think as a very tired student who dreads the thought of making a mistake just because I wasn't able to get a few hours of sleep the night before. Perhaps current residents, physicians, nurses and patients have a different view. Should we be sacrificing training hours for sleep?
Eu só acho que a senhora é fraca... 3 horas na noite anterior + um quarto de hora na última noite e está assim?...
80 horas semanais? Tinham que ser melhores do que nós duas vezes... e não me parece!
