Doctors who work 28-hour shifts ‘are not a danger to patients’

30-day mortality rates are the same whether interns work 16-hour or 28-hour shifts, say researchers
Reuters Health

Trainee doctors who work 80 hours a week provide comparable patient care whether they work longer or shorter days, according to a study looking at the two types of shift work.

The US research shows 30-day mortality rates for hospital patients being treated by residents are 12.2% when shifts are limited to 16 hours a day, five days a week.