Limiting Resident Duty Hours: Key Issues and Policy Implications from Selected Countries

Abstract

Limiting duty hours is essential for safeguarding residents’ rights, both as workers and trainees, and for ensuring patient safety. In response to medical accidents caused by fatigue among residents and interns, some countries have begun addressing the issue of long duty hours, implementing duty-hour limits earlier than Korea. Although the duty-hour caps for residents and interns in Korea were lowered with the implementation of the Act for the Improvement of Training Conditions and Status of Medical Residents, these limits—set at 80 hours per week, plus an additional 8 hours for education, and 36 consecutive hours with an extra 4 for emergencies—remain higher than those in other countries. The government recently launched a pilot project testing reduced limits of 72 hours per week, plus 8 for education, and 24 consecutive hours, with an additional 4 for emergencies, before implementing them nationwide. In addition to reducing duty hours, it is crucial to ensure sufficient learning opportunities for residents.