Working Hours of Medical Residents
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Three cheers for the interns and resident physicians at UCI (Medical Center) who are finally standing up for themselves.
I’ve worked with obstetrical residents for over 10 years and have watched their health and marriages deteriorate during their four years of working over 100 hours per week.
Not only do these physicians in training suffer, but so do the patients under their care. Residents care for all patients, not just the indigent or uninsured.
The general public would benefit by knowing how long their doctors have been on duty. Patients should simply refuse to be cared for by physicians who have been working for longer than 24 hours. For safety reasons, commercial airline pilots have a limit on the number of hours they can fly, but there is no limit on the hours that a resident can work. After already working a day and a half, a physician can perform open-heart surgery.
Residency is for learning, not a rite of passage into the medical profession. Let’s all wake up.
JENNIFER J. BUSH
Mission Viejo
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