Drowsy
?
By Dr J.K. Tukra |
U.S. Legislators are alarmed
about sleep-deprived surgeons, and if you’re concerned,
so should you.
Sleep is a funny thing. We’re taught that we should get
seven or eight hours a night, but
a lot of us get by just fine on less, and some of us actually
sleep too much. A study out of the University of Buffalo reported
that people who routinely sleep more than eight hours a day
and are still tired are nearly three times as likely to die
of stroke, probably as a result
of an underlying disorder that keeps them from snoozing soundly. |
octors
have their own special sleep problems. Residents are famous
sleep deprived. When I was training to becoming a neurosurgeon,
it was not unusual to work 40 hours in a row without rest. Most
of us took it in stride, confident we could still deliver the
highest quality of medical care.
Maybe we shouldn’t have been so sure of ourselves. An article
in the Journal of the American Medical Association points out
that in the morning after 24 hours of sleeplessness, a person’s
motor performance is comparable to that of someone who is legally
intoxicated. Curiously, surgeons who believe that operating
under the influence is grounds for dismissal often don’t
think twice about operating without enough sleep.
“I could tell you horror stories,” says Jaya Agrawal,
president of the American Medical Student Association, which
runs a website where residents can post anoymous anecdotes.
Some are terrifying. “I was operating after being up for
over 36 hours,” one writes. “I literally fell asleep
standing up and nearly face planted into the wound.”
“Practically every surgical resident I know has fallen
asleep at the wheel driving home from work,” writes another.
“I know of three who have hit parked cars. Another hit
a ‘Jersey barrier’ on the New Jersey Turnpike, going
(105 km/h).” |
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“Your own patients have become the enemy,” writes
a third, because they are “the one thing that stands between
you and a few hours of sleep.”
Agrawal’s organization is supporting the Patient and Physician
Safety and Protection Act of 2001, introduced last November
by Representative John Conyers Jr. of Michigan. Its key provisions,
modeled on New York State’s regulations, include and 80-hr
workweek and a 24-hr work-shift limit.
Most doctors, however, resist such interference. Dr. Charles
Binkley, a senior surgery resident at the University of Michigan,
agrees that something needs to be done but believes “doctors
should be bound by their conscience, not by the government.”
The U.S. controls the hours of pilots and truck drivers. But
until such a system is in place for doctors, patients are on
their own. If you’re worried about the people treating
you or a loved one, you should feel free to ask how many hours
of sleep they have had and if more-rested staffers are available.
Doctors, for their part, have to give up their pose of infallibility
and get the rest they need. |
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Freaky Frogs
For
years, frogs with missing legs or extra eyes have been
tuming up in ponds. Now scientists
wonder if trace amounts of weed killer in rainwater
may be partly to blame. A new report shows
that male frogs exposed to altrazine – the best-selling
agricultural herbicide-can develop multiple male sex
organs or both male and female organs. Scientists think
that even low concentrations of the
weed killer–one-thirtieth the level allowed in
drinking water – can cause the male hormone
testosterone to morph into the female hormone estrogen.
Does altrazine affect humans?
No one really knows. But as scientists point out, people
don’t spend as much time
in the water as frogs do.
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