Long-haul truckers do it. So do airplane pilots and air traffic controllers. And railroad engineers and dispatchers. Many industries that require round-the-clock work require their personnel to work a limited number of hours and then get a required number of hours’ rest before they’re allowed to work again. A panel of medical experts, convening on behalf of the Institute of Medicine, are saying that now is a great time to implement mandatory rest time and limited work hours for our nation’s fledgling doctors, too.

Shortly after graduation from medical school, new doctors undertake their medical residency, a sometimes grueling introduction to a medical specialty that must be completed before becoming fully licensed. Considered a rite of passage, medical residents work nonstop for hours on end to meet the demands of a heavy workload and an 80-hour-per-week commitment. The sleep deprivation that comes with the territory can have a dramatic effect on the resident’s performance.

A 2004 study conducted by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine revealed an error rate of 21% when medical residents slept an average of seven to eight hours each day. When sleep dropped to less than four hours, the rate of errors spiked to 45%. It’s this diminished performance that is behind the call to improve the training process.

Unfortunately, fewer hours on the job doesn’t mean there are fewer patients needing treatment. This issue, plus the money needed to change the medical education system, makes easier hours for residents no quick fix. The panel recommending change did not offer sources of financing as part of their recently released report but does suggest stakeholders such as medical schools, hospitals, the Veterans Administration, and other entities meet for more detailed discussion of the proposal.

While advocates applaud the proposal, critics are less enthusiastic, even suggesting government mandates would simply be ignored in favor of the status quo.