Dead Tired: Weary doctors function as if intoxicated

After a month of long hours of challenging work, fatigued physicians show impairments in driving and other tasks requiring constant attention and quick reactions. The changes are comparable to those that the physicians display, when better rested, after downing three or four alcoholic drinks, a new study finds.

During their years of practical training after medical school, many resident doctors spend long shifts on call and, in some months, work more hours than they have off.