Study: Long Hours Bad for Medical Interns

U.S. research shows medical interns work beyond recently implemented work-hour limits and are at increased risk for job-related injuries.

Two studies show such injuries as needlesticks and cuts are associated with longer hours and fatigue.

Exposures to contaminated fluids from percutaneous injuries, or PIs, such as needlesticks and lacerations, are serious hazards associated with postgraduate medical training and have significant occupational health implications.

Dr. Najib Ayas of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and colleagues examined the contributing factors for PIs in interns and assessed their relationship to extended-duration work. The study included Web-based surveys of self-reported percutaneous exposures from 2,737 of the estimated 18,447 interns in U.S. postgraduate residency programs from 2002 to 2003.

The study appears in the current issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.