Findings Examine Work-Hour Restrictions, Impact Of Hospitalists’ Workloads
A survey found surgeons-in-training often skirt limits on work hours. Meanwhile, a new study concluded that the length of inpatient hospital stays increased when hospitalists' workload went up.
Reuters: Surgeons-In-Training Dislike New Work Hours: Survey
Most surgeons-in-training dislike new rules that limit how many hours they can work, according to a new study that also found the majority said they skirt the restrictions. Researchers surveyed 1,013 surgical residents - who train for years alongside more senior surgeons - and found that about two of every three said they disapproved of the 2011 regulations, which aimed to improve patient care as well as the residents' education and quality of life (Seaman, 5/17).
Medpage Today: Hospitalists Work Longer, Patients Stay Longer
In a less busy hospital, inpatient hospital stays increased as physician workload went up, Daniel Elliott, MD, hospitalist with Christiana Care Health System in Wilmington, Del., found in a retrospective, cohort study. … However, as the hospital got busier, the length of stay was less responsive to changes in workload, he said at a session on hospitalist workload (Pittman, 5/17).