Discussion of IOM Report on Medical Resident Duty Hours

A discussion group taking place until 12:15 p.m. Pacific Time is reviewing the recommendations made last December by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies in its report, “Resident Duty Hours: Enhancing Sleep, Supervision, and Safety.”

The IOM report, which was sponsored by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, is a follow-up to the 2003 duty-hour regulations that were established by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) for ACGME-accredited residency programs in all 120 ACGME-accredited specialties and subspecialties. The ACGME regulations for medical resident duty hours, which took effect on July 1, 2003, set a weekly limit of 80 hours, averaged over four weeks, and established other provisions to promote adequate rest for residents.

Read the Dec. 2, 2008, statement from the AASM about the IOM”s independent analysis of current duty-hour regulations for medical residents.