Should Your Doctor Be Napping on the Job?

I'm a physician assistant whose work schedule at the hospital is 7 days on, 7 days off, 12-hour shifts. By the seventh day I'm mentally exhausted, more so than physically. I just hope to get through that last day without doing something stupid because I can't think straight and killing someone. Everyone else on my team is working the same schedule, as well.

Really? Do the doctors on the team also get 7 days off? Also, what work do PA's do that can result in "killing someone" - where is the oversight from the nurses/clinicians?

Professionals in jobs in which long hours, especially though the night, are a requirement will always be hard to assess with regard to whether or not changes in work rules are effective. Whether it is health care workers or air traffic controllers, they will do everything in their power to keep people alive. So the data is unreliable. But ask anyone who does the job, and they will tell you they would at least like the option to "cat nap" on a break or during their lunch period. If they feel they could personally benefit from it during that particular...

it's a very physical and mental task. medical practitioners certainly know that a sleep-deprived person cannot function at his best because it is through sleep that the biological processes of the body recuperates. I really think we should not put too much pressure on doctors.

Sleep deprivation, fatigue, exhaustion are always been a problem to healthcare provider. Instead of letting a power nap in schedule, why not lessen the total hours of duty in one week? Overworked, eventhough not in the hospitals, are really unproductive, imho.

Exactly. Sleep science and neuroscience generally conclude that you can't beat or cheat the sandman. Sleep debt must be repaid with proper, uninterrupted sleep of a decent duration. Drug-fuelled nights with 'power naps' are a sap to allow inhumane working hours to persist in the name of patient care.