Why do doctors work so many hours in a week?

Question

I was watching the hopkins show on ABC and they were showing a guy that admitted to working between 80 to 100 hours a week. why? are hospitals that short on staff? are the doctors even productive working that hard? is there a way to end that awful practice?

Answer 1

That's been traditional in residency, though the past few years there's been an attempt to limit hours to an average of 80 or fewer per week. For training, the system does get one used to making complicated decisions in the worst of circumstances.

After residency, there are no restrictions on how many hours one can work, the way there is with airline pilots or truck drivers. Young doctors in practice sometimes choose to work very long hours to get out of debt, and it sometimes becomes a habit.

And finally, I just left a salaried position over the very issue. The corporation running the hospital just didn't want to spend the money on adequate staff when they knew I wouldn't leave patients untreated. There are no protections like time-and-a-half pay, holidays, or limitations on hours like there are with other segments of society, and my contract didn't include those protections.

Answer 2

It's funny...the answerer above me gave the same answer I must have heard a hundred times on the ICU!  You also get the standard answer of "Medicine is my mistress"...

I think for some it is an obsession, for others an escape...and for a few, it's guilt that keeps them from taking time off.

Answer 3

If patients would just stop trying to die, everything would go on schedule.

Answer 4

its not that hospitals are short on staff, but when u start attending to a patient, you cant just stop midway thru his treatment and tell another doctor to continue; that would require a complete recap of the patient's history. also, surgeries can be very long