2006年VOA标准英语-Overworked Medical Interns at Double Risk of In

By Melinda Smith
Washington, DC
07 September 2006
 
watch Overworked Intern¹ report

Researchers say that medical interns² are overworked  
  
Doctors in training -- known as residents or interns -- have traditionally worked long hours with little sleep, as they gained experience treating hospital patients.  In 2003 the U.S. medical profession limited the working hours of first-year residents.  But a new survey shows that many of these trainees³ are still putting in more time than recommended, and some are injured in the process.  VOA's Melinda Smith has details of the survey published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

------

For decades first-year residents in U.S. hospitals have put in grueling hours. In 2003,  the medical profession changed the recommended work schedule from 160-hours to 80-hours a week.  The 80-hour figure is still double the traditional 40-hour workweek most American workers spend on the job.

Now it appears that these doctors in training are still putting in more time than they should.  

Dr. Charles Czeisler  
  
Dr. Charles Czeisler of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts is a sleep expert and one of the researchers on the study. He says that work hour standards are abused. "We found that 80 percent of interns across the nation reported that they violated current work hour standards that have been established by the profession."

Many interns also worked more than 30 consecutive⁴ hours in a shift.   While there is often time for a two or three hour nap, problems continued even when the shifts were cut back to 20 hours.

A number of young doctors accidentally stuck themselves with needles or cut themselves with scalpels. 

Dr. Czeisler says fewer hours on duty could help limit the number of injuries. "It's just common sense.  If you've been working more than 20 consecutive hours, your risk of making an error, having a lapse⁵ of attention, a lapse of concentration, is much higher than if you're fresh and you're within the first eight hours of your workday."

 
Mike Westerhaus, intern
  
When intern Mike Westerhaus isn't making rounds in a hospital ward⁶, he is practicing on a training mannequin.  He wants to get the most out of his training, but he also understands the need for balance. "We're humans, we have limits and that to step aside, take a break, rest up, is actually very important in providing care as well."

Some young doctors complain that shorter duty schedules limit their experience of following a patient's continuous care in the hospital.  There has also been fear that hospitals would be short-staffed.  But advocates of duty restrictions⁷ say a doctor who has had plenty of rest is bound to be more alert when the need arises.

1 intern   

v.拘禁，软禁；n.实习生

参考例句：

• I worked as an intern in that firm last summer.去年夏天我在那家商行实习。
• The intern bandaged the cut as the nurse looked on.这位实习生在护士的照看下给病人包扎伤口。

2 interns   

n.住院实习医生( intern的名词复数 )v.拘留，关押( intern的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Our interns also greet our guests when they arrive in our studios. 我们的实习生也会在嘉宾抵达演播室的时候向他们致以问候。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
• The interns work alongside experienced civil engineers and receive training in the different work sectors. 实习生陪同有经验的国内工程师工作，接受不同工作部门的相关培训。 来自超越目标英语 第4册

3 trainees   

新兵( trainee的名词复数 )； 练习生； 接受训练的人； 训练中的动物

参考例句：

• We've taken on our full complement of new trainees. 我们招收的新学员已经满额了。
• The trainees were put through an assault course. 受训人员接受了突击训练课程。

4 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。

5 lapse   

n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效

参考例句：

• The incident was being seen as a serious security lapse.这一事故被看作是一次严重的安全疏忽。
• I had a lapse of memory.我记错了。

6 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

7 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制