Table 4.
US public opinion regarding individual components of Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommendations for resident physician work hour limits
| Individual components of a proposal that would change the work shift requirements for medical residents | Support* (percentage of respondents) | Oppose* (percentage of respondents) | Neutral* (percentage of respondents) | Don't know* (percentage of respondents) | Mean rating (95% CI) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents would not be allowed to work more than 16 h per shift in patient care | 82 (80-84) | 10 (8-12) | 7 (5-9) | 1 (0.4-2) | 8.2 (8.0 to 8.4) |
| Those working a 30-h shift would have at least 5 h of protected sleep time between the hours of 10 pm and 8 am | 79 (76-81) | 11 (9-13) | 8 (7-10) | 2 (1-3) | 7.9 (7.7 to 8.1) |
| Work hours would be capped at no more than 80 h in any single week | 78 (76-81) | 14 (12-16) | 6 (4-7) | 2 (1-3) | 7.9 (7.7 to 8.1) |
| Medical residents would have at least 5 days off per month, including at least one 24-h period per week and one 48-h period per month. | 86 (84-88) | 6 (5-8) | 7 (5-8) | 1 (0.4-2) | 8.5 (8.3 to 8.6) |
| Hospitals would have to provide safe transportation home, such as a taxi or public transit ticket, for residents too fatigued to drive home safely. | 77 (74-79) | 13 (11-15) | 10 (8-12) | 0.8 (0.3-1.2) | 7.8 (7.6 to 8.0) |
| Strict rules would be established to ensure that medical residents are provided with direct, on-site supervision by more experienced doctors | 91 (89-93) | 3 (2-4) | 5 (3-6) | 1 (0.4-2) | 8.9 (8.8 to 9.1) |
| Medical residents would not be allowed to moonlight, or work jobs outside of the hospital in their off hours. | 75 (72-78) | 14 (12-16) | 9 (7-10) | 3 (2-4) | 7.8 (7.6 to 8.0) |
*Respondents were instructed as follows: 'For each one [question], please rate your support for that item on a scale of 0 to 10, where 10 means you strongly support this component, and 0 means you strongly oppose this component, and you can choose any number in between'. Responses from 6-10 are reported under 'Support'; responses from 0-4 are reported under 'Oppose'; responses of 5 are reported under 'Neutral'. Mean rating is the average of all scores, excluding 'Don't know'.