CHICAGO -- Patients will be told when they're being treated by rookie doctors, who would get shorter shifts and better supervision under proposed work changes for medical residents.
The draft regulations aim to promote patient safety and reduce medical errors by enhancing work conditions for sometimes sleep-deprived junior physicians.
The proposal slightly revises regulations adopted seven years ago and would have the biggest impact on interns -- new doctors in their first year of residency training programs in hospitals after graduating from medical school. They would be more closely supervised by experienced doctors and the maximum length of their work shifts would be cut from 24 hours to 16 hours.
Maximum work shifts would remain 24 hours for residents in their second year and beyond. Maximum work weeks would remain at 80 hours for all hospital residents.
All residents and their supervisors also would be required to explain their roles to patients and explain that supervisors are ultimately in charge of their care.
The proposal comes from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. Dr. Thomas Nasca, the group's CEO, said the changes are needed to meet the main goals of graduate medical education -- assuring patient safety while teaching new doctors professionalism and putting patients' needs above their own.
Residency programs, typically lasting three to seven years, give new doctors on-the-job training in patient care along with expertise in their chosen specialty. The programs often involve notoriously long hours that can lead to sleep deprivation, which research shows can contribute to medical errors.
Violations to the accrediting group's 2003 regulations are common and some groups, including the influential Institute of Medicine, have pressed for stricter regulations. The accrediting group included some but not all of the institute's recommendations in the revision.
Dr. Sidney Wolfe of Public Citizen is among advocates who had pressed for stricter shift limits for all residents. Working 24 hours without sleep is dangerous for residents and their patients, and shortening hours for interns only "makes no sense at all," he said.
A coalition including his group issued a report card on the draft, including an "F" on oversight because the group ignored a recommendation for government monitoring of work-hour regulations. The group proposes instead increasing its own site visits to check on compliance.
The draft rules, released Wednesday by the New England Journal of Medicine, will be available for public comment on the accrediting group's website until Aug. 9. They also require approval from its board of directors. Changes likely won't be implemented before July 2011.
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