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Doctors Post Pics Where They Sleep At Work To Defend Med Resident Caught Asleep
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After a Mexican blog posted a picture of a medical student sleeping behind a desk at a hospital in Monterrey, Mexico, and attacked her for not doing her job. Doctors around the world leaped to the defense of this medical schooling victim by posting pictures of themselves caught sleeping at work during some of their most grueling shifts. These images are going viral under the hashtag #YoTambienMeDormi (“I've also fallen asleep” in Spanish). Mind you, not only working as a doctor is a particularly demanding job, but they also have to undergo laborious medical studies, often asking the aspiring doctor to live the student life for up to 7 years.
In the 1980s, a high-profile case involving the death of a girl named Libby Zion at a hospital staffed by exhausted doctors led to the drafting of the Libby Zion Law. This law limits NY physicians' work hours per week to “only” 80, showing just how overworked some of our doctors are. Comparing that to the usual 40 working hours per week and doing the math, it seems like the doctors, who are so often responsible for people's lives, have to work practically without any rest or sleep.
More info: BBCA blogger snapped these pics of a sleeping resident in Mexico at 3 a.m.
The writer criticized the young resident, saying that "doctors are obliged to do their work"
There were "dozens of patients who need care," the blogger continued
Mexican doctor Juan Carlos responded by posting a tweet with the hashtag #YoTambienMeDormi (or “I've also fallen asleep”)
Soon, hundreds of other doctors began defending the resident
Doctors around the world are often severely overworked
Some doctors work 36-hour shifts or 80-hour work weeks!
"We are people, not machines"
Add your own pictures of doctors napping below!
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Tired After 36 Hours Of No Sleep
I wish I had pictures of me in full chemical warfare gear, snoring through a gas mask, under a desk. Awaiting triage patients.
I Am Also Sleeping
As long as they don't fall asleep during a procedure they need to sleep when & where they can
After First Successful Heart Transplant In Poland
Only Those Who Are Doctors Understand This
As a nurse I see how hard our Dr.s work and the long hours. They are entitled to rest to be on top of their game when needed...shame on the
I Am Also Sleeping
I think the blogger should admire the medical resident of resting at work, not going home, in order to be available, instead of criticizing
Inside The Ambulance Returning To Base Camp After A Succesful Management Of A Cardiac Arrest...
Same In France !
My Sister is an ER Nurse and she has worked well past her shift many times. F877K that blogger!
After A Hard Birth :) Midwife Sleeping :))
Planking..doctor Style
Taking A Nap After 40 Hours Duty. Georgia
We Aren't Robots, Or Machines We Feel Just As Everyone Else Does.
I like this one, makes you think about how not only do they ALL work long hours but they can also be called in randomly from resting at home
Purposely Looked At Images In A Lit Room To Try To Avoid This But Still Fell Asleep.
She Came Home From A 24 Hour Shift And Couldn't Even Make It To Here Bedroom.
Nghe An 2014, Operation Smile
2 Decker
Even Dr. Ken Needs A Break.... @ New Orleans Podiatry Associates
Even Dr Ken needs a break.. # Working hard @New Orleans Podiatry Associates.
S/p - Sitting Position
Right Lateral Decubitus Position
Catching some zzz's is the honorable thing to do, rather than pushing oneself beyond the point of exhaustion while caring for other people
3 Am, On A 36 Hour Shift
If A Resident Never Fell Asleep, Does Not Deserve To Be A Doctor
We Are Human, Too.
Can't Help It...at A Lecture In Medical School From The Philippines.
Before Sunrise !...getting Ready For Morning Presentation
We Do This For You Health...certainly Not For Ours.
Even Student Nurses...
14 Hours No Ac Working A Dental Mission In The Dominican Republic. #yotambienmedormi
At Least She Gets To Look Sexy While Trying To Get Some Sleep #yotambienmedormi
Post 48hrs Oncall
Hats off to all these hard working over worked doctors, my children are amongst them all three of them. God bless them all!
Doctors Have Lives Also And Health To Take Care Of..=( #yotambienmedormi
#eutambemdormi
Trying Not To Fall Asleep At 4am (3rd Call On The Same Week)
2 In The Morning After 18 Hours Of Work And Another 12 Left
Post-call, In Between Elective Surgeries, And Pre-call To Boot. Good Times.
Memories From 1st Year Residency After Being On-call All Night Nonstop
Re-energizing Myself At 2a.m. In Surgical Emergency (30 Hours On Call)
This is crazy! These people are saving lives! How can some asshole go & criticize them! So much stress & responsibility on their shoulders!
Oh how I agree with you the author of the blog is just a cheapskate who is clearly a failure in life!
You don't understand Susanna these people work longer then you and by experience I've seen it with my older sister who is a med student right now she stays up at all hours of the night,she barely sleeps due to homework and exams.
Uhm.. what doesn't Susanna understand? From what I read, she's agreeing with you. . .
Im a doctor.."been there, done that". Never criticize us when you've never been in our shoes. We save lives despite our pains. Be grateful !
Don't worry, most of us are grateful. I feel safer in the hands of a doc who takes refreshing naps than a doctor who only uses energy drinks
I agree!!
Much more will go wrong after being on shift for 36 hour or more , and NO SLEEP!!!! medical staffs taking a cat nap when they can, is considering their patients as they don't want to make mistake.
I agree
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A nap is great before your shift, not while on the job though that's when things go wrong.
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You make it sound like you were some kind of god. I'm grateful for doctors, but cocky know-it-all ones are a disgrace
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I can say I'm grateful for the labor doctors do. The way you describe it, it sounds like you think you're some sort of god... lack of class
I love it. Way to step up! :) I fully support my surgeon or doctor having a nap before operating on me! As long as there's coffee after ...
I'd rather them take a nap when they can find the time as opposed to making a possibly fatal mistake because they are exhausted.
I would prefer being examined by a doctor who just woke up from a relaxing nap than a doctor who is starting his 36th hour without sleeping.
Give them a break. You have no idea.
A big vote of thanks to all doctors ( and nurses ) for all they do, all the hours they put in, show me anybody who hasn't had a quick 40 winks at work given the chance. They are still just a wakeup call away from helping someone. God bless them all.
As a med student I fell asleep post call in lecture and began to snore. Lol, the professor was very understanding.
I can't believe anyone would complain about a Dr catching a few winks. Power naps can only help an exhausted Dr, Nurse, Dentist
As a nurse I see what hours DR's do we have all been there done that until YOU have walked in our shoes done our shifts BACK THE HELL OFF
Stupid bloger !
I think that resident doctors are way over worked and they should get some sleep whenever possible. They are human too not machines.
It's a really challenging job that takes a lot one emotionall, mentally and physically.
i used to work in nursing at a teaching hospital. the nurses are more than capable to watch the patients while they let their residents catch some shut eye. we see what they go through. some docs don't go home for days and are stuck in hospital.
Think about this: would you rather have a sleep deprived physician working on you or one that was able to power nap? Give me the responsible one that knows when they abdolitely need to close their eyes!
Clearly these are hard working people with the best of intentions who would not be napping if their patients needs had not been met for the moment. Physician error accounts for a staggering number of complications and deaths each year; it is likely that over worked and thus sleep deprived health workers are more likely to make such errors. But all of that aside, Asia is very sane when it comes to sleeping in public, which in the West is basically unheard of outside of homelessness. The first major observation I made about the U.S. once I started my great trip around the world in my late 20s, resulted from observing in Asia that it is normal and acceptable to take a nap wherever you happen to be, if you have some time and need rest. Put another way, it's OK to sleep in public in Asia without needing to first rent an expensive room in which to do it.
IDrather my doctor take a nap, over taking energy pills or drugs to stay alert. Im not part od medical staff, but I've worked a 13hr shift with little sleep, I can't imagine working a 18+ hr shift with no sleep. w
I'm a Med Tech.....and HELL YEAH! I slept at work.....If you screw up somebody's dead ......I once mixed specimens which was caught by another Med tech and saved the lives of 2 people, So I also don't go to work unless I'm fully rested.
I am a freshly minted doctor, and the support I have read in the comments below is very affirming. Thank you. Your support makes it easier for us to love and serve you all. I wouldn't really be harsh with that blogger. Instead I'd encourage him to try to rationalize and empathize, maybe this way: " Dear Sir. On behalf of my co-worker, whom you choose to instantly judge, let me say this. There are two reasons a person would fall asleep at her desk: sheer laziness (or) sheer fatigue. Consider that the person in question, like me, has voluntarily studied hard through high school, studied harder in pre-med, studied hardest in med school, and has attended countless cadaver dissections, labs, daily rounds, conferences, clinical case discussions, CPCs, and surgeries. Within THAT context, which seems more likely? Sheer fatigue? Or sheer laziness?"
In the US, most residents' lounges have a couch or a cot for the purpose of them taking a nap, because their shifts are so long.
Shame on the blogger! Doctors are not machine. Getting short naps between patients is great than falling asleep in the middle of surgeries!
Its madness to expect humans to be on top of their game with sleep deprivation to contend with...by the way...isnt that a torture technic?
Is how exhausting the Job of a nurse and a doc are. And how nobody cares or think about it. Let them have a break for godssake! They need it
Let them sleep when they can. Be grateful for their care not criticise!
Residents routinely (afaik) work 24-36 hour shifts. I WANT them to sleep during downtimes. Routine patient care is handled by RNs, who (1/2)
know when a doctor's presence is required.
People are ANGRY about them sleeping?! It means the doctor worked so hard and long they're falling down in their tracks! Say thank you!
Stupid bloger ! The jugdment was completly unnecessary.
I think the blogger who criticized the doctor is just another moron who envy doctors
Really! when shifts are so long and 100% concentration is needed... they need to sleep where and when they can!
It's easy for anyone to say things when they themselves are not in their shoes & with the use of social platform, some remarks can even kill
I completely symphatise with them. I once had a job with night shifts (not a healthcare one thankfully) and I know how physically draining it was. And when I add the insane responsibility and difficulty to it, I completely agree with point.
This hits close to home I'm a cosmetology who had a client who was a resident getting ready to graduate fall asleep behind the wheel... And lose her life ....they need their rest like everyone else!
Power naps are healthy! I want my doctor well rested so they can provide the best care. Let them sleep!
Interns are over worked everyday of the week. Doctors stay as long as they are needed, even if it means 36 hours. Let them rest when and where they can, they need every minute utensils to work at their best possible level. God bless them.
It's easy to look down on people when you live in an ivory tower. Work a week the way healthcare providers do and we'll see how "tired" you get. I can't imagine writing an article is very taxing on you but do CPR for 20 minutes on a person and then we'll see.
Doctors do need to nap!!!
Would be better to fight for more employees and shorter work hours than for the ability to slack off at work, just sayin :)
My doctor slept three nights at the hospital waiting for my son to be born! That is deducation!!
Bloggers are... well, bloggers. Nothing more, nothing less. Just a hobby.
We should respect their nature of work. They would have spent many sleepless nights to save people's lives. Look at the way they are sleeping, they do not even have proper beds and it's very sad. There is nothing wrong in taking a break when you are exhausted.
They are people not machine
I'm sure I've read that in the east (not sure what area) they encourage sleeping in work, to show they are working hard, some even fake sleeping to pretend they are working hard.
I am a senior surgeon now. When I was a trainee, there were weeks when I was on call every day of the week for some weeks and the week-ends were real killers and believe me, I have fallen asleep leaning on the corner of the walls of the lift and had to be awakened by the nurses who realised I was 'missing'!!! Embarrassing but true .
I'm not a Docotr, so not sharing a picture, But just wanted to say "Thanks" to Doctors all over the world who long hours, sometimes under less than ideal conditions, saving lives! THANK YOU!