Are resident work-hour restrictions increasing patient mortality?

Um – former resident (current attending) here.

I trained in the old days of a huge census, long call, post call, short call, pre call, long call again. 12 on long call, 6 on short call and no hour limits. That system produced some great (albeit bitter) doctors.

Now 3 pts every day is the same as 12 every 4 days and a much more manageable work load. Why is no one interested in setting up a residency program where people admit every day – looks more like the real world then. It even makes having a “night float team” more logical.