The Fool has discovered a little study presented in the Sep 7th issue of JAMA: Neurobehavioral Performance of Residents After Heavy Night Call vs. After Alcohol Ingestion. This study took a number of pediatric residents and had them drink alcohol or placebo after a regular workday or post call. They found that post-call resident performace was comparable with a 0.04 to 0.05% blood alcohol level, measured by sustained attention, vigilance and simulated driving tasks. It’s a study that’s worth mentioning here. So, instead of hitting a bar of Friday nights, perhaps we should all be taking call in the ER instead!!
-Fool
