On the 80 Working Hours a Week of Residents

Banned on left wing blog and propaganda outlet, KevinMD. A resident discussed limits of resident time. So here is a reply to this post.

http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2016/04/how-duty-hour-restrictions-are-hurting-residency-training.html

The answer, as usual, is freedom and technology.

They say it takes 10,000 hours to become proficient at a skill. One may reach that time in 2.5 years or 5 years. If one's income as a surgeon is $400,000 a year, the difference is worth $million.

The best would be to allow a choice.

Being sleepy is as great an impairment as being drunk on the job.

Although I oppose regulation, I support a regulation making all employers provide places and times to take naps up to half an hour. The time should be returned to the employer by staying after others have gone home, or by coming in earlier.

I also support the provision of modafinil over the counter, so it may replace caffeine. It is 100 more effective at promoting productive wakefulness, and has 1/100 the side effect of caffeine. I intend to submit a Citizen Petition to the FDA to allow it over the counter.

I have filed a regulatory complaint because generic modafinil costs $30 a pill in the U.S., even though made by 4 companies. It costs 80 cents in India, and is over the counter. No doubt the pharmacy and the maker are still making a profit at that price.