Last weeks topic of Sleep in the healthcare field really got my attention, and was really concerning to me. We as consumers look up to those in the medical profession for help and guidance, and especially those in the hospital setting where we tend to go in cases of emergencies or very serious circumstances. In Drowsy Docs it is stated that most attending medical professionals in the hospital setting average 4.8 hours of sleep. That is quite a but below the recommended amount of sleep for an average person much less a professional who is dealing with peoples lives. So, 4.8 hours a night in which "hospitals[state] first-year residents work 70- to 80-hour weeks and up to 30 days consecutively (and some think these estimates understate the case). Residents routinely work 36-hour stretches, often without sleep." This is absolutely crazy. We pay huge dollars to people to make us better, when they themselves need to be better. There need to be more doctors and residents working less hours. We are not just talking about sleepy workers, but medical professionals who hold our lives in their hands. These professionals wear sleep deprivation as a medal of honor and see it as a fact of life. It is disconcerting to know what is really happening to the medical field.
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All I can think about when someone mentions sleepy doctors is a few good episodes of "Grey's Anatomy". In quite a few episodes the "doctors" who aren't really doctors make huge mistakes because they are simply sleep deprived, makes me question how much more the actual doctors suffer through because of this. What can be done about this side of health care?
ReplyDeleteYes, these readings are disconcerting. You did really well outlining some of the problems discussed in the articles.
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