The long work hours of doctors leave them so fatigued
that their reaction times are comparable to someone who is slightly
drunk, according to recent researchers.
Resident doctors following a "heavy call" schedule
that can require a 90-hour work week performed more poorly on a
driving simulation test than those on a "light call" rotation
averaging 44 hours a week who then drank liquor until their blood
alcohol level reached 0.05 percent, the study said.
A driver with a 0.08 percent blood alcohol level
is considered drunk.
A survey of resident doctors found that they were
three times more likely than average to have been involved in a
motor vehicle crash.
A previous study that found interns who worked
heavy schedules made 50 percent more mistakes with patients and
had 22 percent more serious errors on critical care units.
Although new rules enacted in 2003 lowered the
weekly work schedules for U.S. doctors-in-training to a maximum
of 80 hours, "Residents must be aware of post-call performance
impairment and the potential risk to personal and patient safety," study
author Todd Arnedt of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Since doctors may have limited ability to recognize
the degree to which they are impaired, residency programs should
consider these risks when designing work schedules and develop
risk management strategies for these doctors, such as considering
alternative call schedules or providing post-call napping quarters.
