Tired doctors are risky drivers

Quick View. Jan. 31, 2005.

	Shift worked
Number of	24 hours or more	Less than 24 hours
Commutes	54,121	180,289
Crashes (Odds ratio)	58 (2.3)	73 (1.0)
Near misses (Odds ratio)	1,971 (5.9)	1,156 (1.0)

First-year residents are twice as likely to have a car crash and almost six times as likely to have a near miss after working an extended shift of 24 or more hours.

Those statistics, when compared with interns finishing shorter days, are part of a study in the Jan. 13 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

The study, "Extended Work Shifts and the Risk of Motor Vehicle Crashes among Interns," is available online (workhours.bwh.harvard.edu).

The research was done as part of the Harvard Work Hours, Health and Safety study and was conducted before resident hour restrictions went into effect July 1, 2003. The American Medical Association supported the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education work-hour reforms.

Source: "Extended Work Shifts and the Risk of Motor Vehicle Crashes among Interns," New England Journal of Medicine, Jan. 13

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» It's not enough just to reduce residents' hours  Jan. 17
» Resident study: Hours worked do make a difference  Dec. 6, 2004
» Resident work-hour limits still a struggle one year into restrictions  July 19, 2004

The doctors are in the house
The AMA's House of Delegates is holding its Interim Meeting Nov. 7-10 in Houston, addressing issues such as health system reform and physician payment.
Meeting coverage - Slideshow