LAUSR

“Bridget and Tom had to work,” explained Micah, one of the second-year residents. (The names of all the residents have been changed.) “The schedule has changed and we need to start our shift at 2:00 instead of 3:00. Maria’s in the ICU and can’t leave for conference. Ed was on last night and had to go home to sleep; he wanted me to record the session. Is that okay?” I knew about the resident duty hours restrictions and supported the need for residents to get adequate sleep. And I agreed with taping our sessions to make them available for those who could not attend. Nonetheless, it was frustrating to prepare a session for the residents and then not have half of them attend. Although I had heard about the need for more resident coverage to improve our clinical services, I had thought that our conference time would be protected.