BMJ  2007;334:777-778 (14 April), doi:10.1136/bmj.39154.516667.BE

Analysis

Implications of shift work for junior doctors

North Western Deanery/NHS Northwest, Manchester M1 3DZ

Yasmin Ahmed-Little provides evidence that junior doctors' dislike of shift working is more than a stubborn reaction and discusses how to make shifts more tolerable

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Junior doctors in the UK have seen their working hours cut through implementation of the European Working Time Directive and the Department of Health's new deal to improve working conditions.^{w1 w2} However, the resulting increase in shift working has caused great dissatisfaction. Juniors report fatigue and poor performance on the night shift,¹ and evidence from outside medicine suggests there may be long term health effects. Concerns have been raised about future recruitment and retention, particularly in the acute 24 hour specialties. Shift working is likely to increase further as junior doctors' working hours are reduced to a maximum of 48 hours per week by 2009. Without an evidence based approach to the implementation of such large scale changes, there is a real danger of adding new, unknown risks and perhaps even worsening the status quo.²

Shift working patterns in the UK

Traditionally junior doctors worked long hours in a resident, on-call capacity with continuous shifts of up . . . [Full text of this article]

Health effects

Making shifts work

Evidence based rostering

Future challenges

Summary points

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