Reform in House Staff Working Hours and Clinical Supervision: A 30-Year Reflection Following the Release of the Bell Commission Report

When we were medical interns (WHF and JSA), training in 1969, the weekday work schedule on the ward services was 36 hours on and 12 hours off. Every other weekend, there was a shift from Saturday morning to late Monday afternoon, 56 straight hours. We were off 1 Sunday every 2 weeks. There were only 3 patient handoffs a week, and we knew all the patients, including those of our covering co-interns as if they were members of our own families. In-hospital on-call supervision was provided by senior post graduate year-3 (PGY-3) or chief post graduate year-4 (PGY-4) residents.