Brigham and Women’s finds doctors sleep more when hours are cut
Getting a good night’s sleep is important for everyone — including physicians. In 2011, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) set a limit on first-year resident physician shifts of 16 or fewer continuous hours of work. This policy change was based primarily on the results of studies comparing outcomes for first-year residents who worked extended-duration work shifts (24 hours or more) to those who worked rapid-cycling shifts. But data for more senior resident physicians has been lacking. Currently, resident physicians are permitted to work extended-duration shifts of up to 28 hours after their first postgraduate year. A new study led by investigators from Brigham and Women’s Hospital is the first multicenter randomized clinical trial of senior resident physicians (postgraduate year two and higher) to compare the work hours and sleep obtained by those working extended shifts with those whose scheduled shifts were limited to no more than 16 consecutive...