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Paula G. Carmichael, MD
Sacramento, Calif

JAMA. 1993;269(23):2987.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

To the Editor.

—The conclusions of the study¹ that blames restricted house staff hours for increased in-hospital complications is dismaying, since it compares an established system with one that is merely 4 months old. This is truly comparing apples and oranges. It is not reasonable to expect an unfamiliar new system to immediately compete favorably with an old system. I believe that the similar rates of serious outcomes actually bode well for the vindication of a shorter work week, once people have become familiar with it.

Finally, which system leads to the flight of more physicians to lucrative, less trying private practices? This is a more pertinent end point for a society that needs more physicians working sensible hours with reasonable numbers of patients. We cannot continue to rely on the guilt and goodwill of a few attending physicians and their indentured house staff to provide medical care for . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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