The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) has proposed changes to its rules governing residents that would allow them to work 24-hour shifts–a third longer than they are currently allowed to work–plus up to four more hours to manage transitions in care.
It’s an about face from about a decade ago when ACGME took actions to restrict some of the most brutal aspects of medical residencies, such as eliminating back-to-back shifts that could last as long as 30 hours apiece.
