Junior doctor training doesn’t suffer with fewer hours
There is no difference in patient outcomes when hours are capped at 80 a week, US research finds
Shortening junior doctors’ working weeks to a mere 80 hours has no impact on the quality of their training, a study suggests.
Trainee doctors whose hours are capped at 80 have similar patient outcomes in their first year of independent working as those who put in more hours during their junior years, US research reports.
The BMJ study found no difference in patient deaths, hospital readmission or the cost of care between the two groups.
“These findings suggest that the large reductions in residency work hours in the US were not associated with declines in the quality of physician training,” the authors said.
