Equating long physician work hours with an alcohol-induced state
Does this mean that physician work hours be further reduced? Not necessarily:

“This is, without a doubt, a notable finding,” write editorialist Drew Dawson, PhD, and colleagues. But they don’t support doing away with long hours for new doctors.

“In some scenarios, limiting working hours may increase risk to patients and physicians,” writes Dawson, who works at the University of South Australia’s Centre for Sleep Research.

“For example, restricting working hours may lead to restricted access to health care practitioners through a reduction in the labor supply, insufficient clinical preparation for the ‘real world,’ increased sleep restriction in senior physicians, or increases in error rates due to work intensification. Each of these could result in higher overall risk,” write the editorialists.

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