Here are five thoughts:
1. In 2012, a Journal of Neurosurgery study found the imposed duty hour restrictions resulted in more complications, due to disturbances in care continuity.
2. A New England Journal of Medicine study found 41 percent of physicians noted a poorer educational experience when duty hours were restricted in 2011.
3. Some neurosurgery residents feel they aren’t receiving as rigorous an education, if they are restricted to certain work hours. Neurosurgery procedures may be anywhere from four hours to 10 hours long, so this discontinuity could impede training, according to the Foundation for Economic Education.
4. Hershey, Pa.-based Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center neurosurgeons wrote a petition paper on the resident duty hour restrictions in January 2016.
5. The paper offers a better training regiment for neurosurgery residents, accounting for fatigue, but also for flexibility.
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