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A comment on Maybe today’s Navy is just not very good at driving ships. Parent comment

Re:Maybe today’s Navy is just not very good at driving ships by arjie on Monday August 28, 2017 @07:22PM (#15120981)
I've heard doctors say this, but they never cite evidence. But there is a wealth of evidence that says that doctor performance drops significantly with motor performance being harmed so much as to increase the number of errors and excess movements. I'll add the citation at the end, but it's not about the single study; it's about the fact that there is little evidence to the contrary and lots of evidence saying it's the case. If this were a drug, we'd be prescribing it every which way.

And most importantly, know that this is not necessary. American doctor supply is restricted by the AMA. America could suck the best doctors out of many other nations if it so desired and its healthcare practitioners would be better rested, more mentally well, and far less error prone.

http://www.bmj.com/content/323/7323/1222.1.short

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Re:Maybe today’s Navy is just not very good at driving ships by brownbat on Monday August 28, 2017 @10:32PM (#15121700)
> I've heard doctors say this, but they never cite evidence.

Seems pretty well researched by a quick google. Maybe they're eliding the support not because it's an assumption, but because it's so thoroughly established they take it for granted?

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMsa1405556#t=article...

https://psnet.ahrq.gov/primers/primer/9/handoffs-and-signout...

...

> But there is a wealth of evidence that says that doctor performance drops significantly with motor performance being harmed

That's true too, but I worry you're trying to rebut (X & Y) with evidence for Y.

If we find ourselves slipping into a battle of emphasis, maybe we face a problem of optimization?

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Re:Maybe today’s Navy is just not very good at driving ships by arjie on Tuesday August 29, 2017 @02:30AM (#15122503)
From what I'm seeing, your hypothesis about this being a question of optimisation seems well supported. I worry that medical professionals resist changes here out of cultural belief or a resistance to process. That wouldn't be without precedent. Even something as well-established as washing hands between patients isn't done without explicit process (compliance is near 13% without explicit reinforcement for something that everyone learns the legend of Semmelweis for), and surgeons refuse even _private_ outcomes tracking.
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Re:Maybe today’s Navy is just not very good at driving ships by brownbat on Tuesday August 29, 2017 @06:43AM (#15123370)
Agreed, I can't know from first principles if the right shift length is 4 or 8 or 30. I'm sympathetic to your suggestion that it would be a surprising coincidence if doctors landed on the perfect number through historical accident. Maybe they have a feel for safety in shift length, but they don't in other areas like washing, so maybe not.

It probably varies by specialty and even individuals, probably a monster of a problem.

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