Is your doc a rookie? Rule changes would spell it out, and give medical residents fewer hours
By Lindsey Tanner, APWednesday, June 23, 2010
Rookie docs may get more oversight, shorter shifts
CHICAGO — Rookie doctors will get shorter shifts and closer supervision if proposed work changes for medical residents are enacted.
The goal is promoting patient safety and reducing medical errors.
The draft regulations from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education affect sometimes sleep-deprived new doctors although critics say the rules don’t go far enough.
First-year residents would be more closely supervised and the maximum length of their shifts would be cut from 24 hours to 16 hours. Maximum work shifts would remain 24 hours for other residents.
Patients will also be told when they’re being treated by rookie doctors.
The proposal was released Wednesday by the New England Journal of Medicine.
