Does This Apply To Singapore?

Interesting Article from Time magazine


A rather similar piece was published almost 10 years ago - I remember because I quoted it in a write-up I did for a local medical newsletter. Funny how things haven't changed much all this time.

Whether it applies to the local context, it would depend a lot on the department you're in. High-risk postings include surgical ones ( general, orthopaedic ), maybe even certain medical rotations ( my time as a house and medical officer in internal medicine was hellish ), or any place that is famous for bad night calls and minimal post-calls.

Some of you may not be aware that the National University Hospital recently started a shift system for ward teams ( I'm told medical departments have come on board ). So instead of working 8-5 and staying overnight when you're on-call, everyone does 12-hour shifts ( something like 8am to 8pm then 8pm-8am, correct me if I'm wrong because I don't work there ) at fixed stretches, followed by another stretch of days off.

I'm told hospitals in Australia and the United Kingdom also utilize the same system. Reason it hasn't made it to Singapore may have something to do with our manpower shortage and resistance to change by the powers-that-be.

Commenting from an ER physician's perspective, I think shift hours for all doctors is the best way to go. Why deprive them,of sleep and put patients at unnecessary risk? Certainly, other factors may come into play where medical errors are concerned, but it's been proven that sleep-deprived doctors' cognitive and motor skills are equivalent to those intoxicated with alcohol.

Would you want someone like that taking care of you in the middle of the night, especially if you require an emergency procedure?

Anyway, it remains to be seen whether Singapore's healthcare system will undergo any major revamping in the near future.

Just some food for thought.

p.s. A book recommendation - How Doctors Think, by Jerome Groopman.