title: Legal considerations of sleep deprivation among resident physicians.
abstract: Medical training in the United States often takes the form of a grueling endurance test in which patients are often those most at risk. This Article discusses sleep deprivation among resident physicians in the United States with an eye towards resolving the problem through legal channels. It analyzes the effects of sleep deprivation on resident physicians, with subsequent discussion of the implications for patient care and medical training. Next, it makes comparisons to medical training in other developed nations, as well as regulations that exist in the airline and trucking industries, where public safety is a principal concern. Furthermore, this Article discusses proposals to mend the dilemmas created by sleep-deprived resident physicians through statutory and regulatory reform, deterrence by way of tort law, and unionization or collective bargaining.
authors.forename: D V
authors.initials: DV
authors.lastname: Patton
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Landers
authors.forename: I T
authors.initials: IT
authors.lastname: Agarwal
mesh_terms: D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D001359:Aviation / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D019049:Developed Countries; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D005221:Fatigue / Q000209:etiology; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000592:standards; D019300:Medical Errors / Q000517:prevention & control*; D015969:National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, U.S., Health and Medicine Division; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D012892:Sleep Deprivation / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology; D014186:Transportation / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D014481:United States; D014940:Work Schedule Tolerance / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology; D016526:Workload / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence