Here are seven key takeaways:
1. The proposal would extend their shifts to 24 hours, which is eight hours longer than the current allowed shift time.
2. If approved, the proposal would go into effect in July, 2017. The timing is crucial as the next wave of medical schools would begin their residencies at that time.
3. The proposal raises an important question as to whether longer shifts impact patient safety. The task force argues the proposal aims to enhance interns’ and residents’ care coordination at teaching institutions.
4. The current rule allows first-year physicians to work a maximum of 16 hours after Institute of Medicine published a study analyzing work hours correlation to patient safety. However, a 2016 study showed no correlation between patient outcomes and young surgeons working “extremely longer shifts,” The Washington Post reports.
5. Those supporting the proposal argue work-hour limits compromise patient safety due to the increased number of patient handoffs and the notion that young physicians learn best when following a patient during their first 36 hours of hospitalization.
6. Michael Carome, director of Public Citizen’s Health Research Group, said, “Study after study shows that sleep-deprived resident physicians are a danger to themselves, their patients and the public.”
7. The task force’s proposal will be open to 45 days of public comment.
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