I'm still planning on recounting my story through this blog, but that project's on hiatus right now 'cause I'm busy with other things (clerkships, studying...)
Anyway, I happened to come across some news articles online regarding this Hopkins surgery resident who was fired from his program for being "mentally ill." Mentally ill? What do they even mean by that? You can't fire someone simply for being mentally ill. They have to be mentally ill and posing a danger to patients, or some other such thing. It's really odd that this guy's whole career is on the line because someone has decided to label him "mentally ill." Now, technically, depression is a "mental illness" So, all you depressed people out there? Everyone on an SSRI? You're all mentally ill. And you can't work at Hopkins. Schizophrenia is also a mental illness. So, I'm sad to say that if you're schizophrenic, you also will not be able to successfully complete a surgical residency at Hopkins should your secret get out. As for myself, any hope I had of becoming a Hopkins surgery resident was dashed to pieces when I found that those who are "mentally ill" are not welcome.
It's interesting to me that this guy was placed in a broad category that includes severely ill schizophrenics, histrionics with borderline personality disorder, and the depressed. I'm trying to figure out which disorder this guy probably had.
Maybe he had paranoid schizophrenia and was having delusions that those at Johns Hopkins were coaching residents on what to report on an ACGME survey. I think that's it, the most likely diagnosis. The resident, at age 30, presented with paranoid delusions. And anyone who thinks that Hopkins would try to hide anything from the ACGME is crazy, totally nuts. There was that guy a few years ago who seemed to think that "hours" should be "regulated" at Hopkins. That's not really a paranoid delusions, I would call that a bizarre delusion, perhaps. I'm not even sure if that's correct. Well, then he started having paranoid delusions. He held the belief that everyone at Hopkins KNEW that he was the one who complained about these alleged "hours regulations." What a nut case.
Showing posts with label Hours regulations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hours regulations. Show all posts
Monday, September 7, 2009
Saturday, November 22, 2008
80 Hour Workweeks
"Well, I start work at 6 am so I get tired early," I said to the grocery store clerk, who had just commented on my yawning.
"So, what, you get out at 2?"
"No..."
An 8 hour, or even a 10 hour day has become a luxury. I forget how it is outside of medicine sometimes. There are reminders, though. When I exclaimed that medical students can now get to the hospital later, now at 6 am, my parents, unfamiliar with the world of medicine, didn't really understand how that could be "late" to start work. They also don't understand that a shift may last 24 hours. That people who shouldn't be on the road driving a car, are in the hospital working with desperately ill patients. And they don't understand that this is an improvement.
Resident physicians in hospitals are now legally limited to 80 hours per week of work. There are other stipulations, making 36 hour shifts illegal, and ensuring that there is a reasonable amount of time between shifts so doctors don't have two hours to come home, shower and change scrubs, and return to the hospital.
Many attribute the changes to the Libby Zion case. I don't know many of the specifics of the case- but the gyst is that a young woman named Libby Zion went to the emergency room at a New York hospital and was given medication which interacted with a medication she was on, or an illegal drug she'd been taking- I'm actually not even sure why she went to the ED in the first place, actually. But, anyway, she went to the ED, there were some over-sights, and she ultimately passed away. It turns out that her father's a journalist, so the case gained wide recognition. The mistakes and oversights that were made in the ED were eventually blamed on sleep deprivation and long work hours for residents.
Some seasoned Attending physicians look at that case and dismiss Libby Zion as a cocaine addict who has somehow lead to the ruin of modern medicine, but I think, all things considered, that the diminished work week has been a good thing.
There are arguments against it- some argue that by decreasing hours from 120 to 80, interns have now been cheated out of 40 hours per week of learning and others argue that increased patient pass-offs between residents increase mistakes. Those who protest hours regulations don't like to mention the effects of sleep deprivation upon the doctors, patients, or upon those unfortunate enough to be on the roads while fatigued residents are driving home.
But, whatever the root cause, or whatever the arguments are against hours regulations, I am reaping the benefit and am lucky enough to be entering medicine at a time where there is at least an acknowledgement that long hours are bad.
"So, what, you get out at 2?"
"No..."
An 8 hour, or even a 10 hour day has become a luxury. I forget how it is outside of medicine sometimes. There are reminders, though. When I exclaimed that medical students can now get to the hospital later, now at 6 am, my parents, unfamiliar with the world of medicine, didn't really understand how that could be "late" to start work. They also don't understand that a shift may last 24 hours. That people who shouldn't be on the road driving a car, are in the hospital working with desperately ill patients. And they don't understand that this is an improvement.
Resident physicians in hospitals are now legally limited to 80 hours per week of work. There are other stipulations, making 36 hour shifts illegal, and ensuring that there is a reasonable amount of time between shifts so doctors don't have two hours to come home, shower and change scrubs, and return to the hospital.
Many attribute the changes to the Libby Zion case. I don't know many of the specifics of the case- but the gyst is that a young woman named Libby Zion went to the emergency room at a New York hospital and was given medication which interacted with a medication she was on, or an illegal drug she'd been taking- I'm actually not even sure why she went to the ED in the first place, actually. But, anyway, she went to the ED, there were some over-sights, and she ultimately passed away. It turns out that her father's a journalist, so the case gained wide recognition. The mistakes and oversights that were made in the ED were eventually blamed on sleep deprivation and long work hours for residents.
Some seasoned Attending physicians look at that case and dismiss Libby Zion as a cocaine addict who has somehow lead to the ruin of modern medicine, but I think, all things considered, that the diminished work week has been a good thing.
There are arguments against it- some argue that by decreasing hours from 120 to 80, interns have now been cheated out of 40 hours per week of learning and others argue that increased patient pass-offs between residents increase mistakes. Those who protest hours regulations don't like to mention the effects of sleep deprivation upon the doctors, patients, or upon those unfortunate enough to be on the roads while fatigued residents are driving home.
But, whatever the root cause, or whatever the arguments are against hours regulations, I am reaping the benefit and am lucky enough to be entering medicine at a time where there is at least an acknowledgement that long hours are bad.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)