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Study: No link between work-hour limits and improved surgical care

NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Nov. 6, 2006

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Shorter work weeks have surgical residents feeling more rested, but the quality of patient care has not improved, says a new study in the October Journal of Surgical Research.

A survey of 165 general surgery, otolaryngology and obstetric-gynecology residents in six states found that respondents believed that patient care had not improved or had declined since the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education capped residents' hours to an average of 80 per week.

Residents surveyed said the new hours had disrupted continuity of care by increasing how often residents covered patients with whose cases they were not familiar. They also reported more miscommunication. Residents said these issues outweighed perceived gains from fewer fatigue-related errors, such as sleeping through a page or miscalculating a medication dose.

Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2006/11/06/prbf1106.htm.

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