WORLD : Medic Residents on 80-Hr. Week

Many medical residents are still working more than 80 hours a week despite a growing movement to limit the on-duty time and the fatigue of doctors in training, a new report indicated today.

Five specialties, all surgical, have residents working an average of more than 80 hours per week in the first year of training, according to the report in today’s Journal of the American Medical Assn.

Nine other specialties have on-duty hours ranging from 70 to 80 per week for first-year residents, the report said.

Last year, New York, which trains 16% of the nation’s doctors, became the first state to limit residents’ shifts to 24 hours and their workweeks to 80 hours. Though still grueling, trainees say it is far better than the century-old tradition of 36-hour shifts and 100-hour workweeks.