> The difference between your judgement at hour 23 and hour 29 is less of a risk factor than a 20% increase in handoffs.
What about the difference in judgement at hour 8 vs hour 29? Honestly, the fact that there's not much benefit for working "way too many hours" vs "way too many hours + 6" doesn't surprise me. It's the difference between "a reasonable number of hours" and "way too many hours" that should have more of an impact.
And how much would handoff issues be reduced if everyone was working an 8 hour shift?
Do you have an idea of how much 8-hour shifts would cost? It is not pretty. It is doable, but has numerous drawbacks as well. The first being that you would not want to have surgery done by someone trained on 8-hour shifts without a complete rehaul of medical education that would also cost you an arm and a leg.
What about the difference in judgement at hour 8 vs hour 29? Honestly, the fact that there's not much benefit for working "way too many hours" vs "way too many hours + 6" doesn't surprise me. It's the difference between "a reasonable number of hours" and "way too many hours" that should have more of an impact.
And how much would handoff issues be reduced if everyone was working an 8 hour shift?