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by yen223 2760 days ago
It's because doctor handovers are surprisingly dangerous.
4 comments

Well yeah, a handover after thirty hours at work would be incredibly dangerous.

That doesn't mean you should extend the shifts, quite the opposite. How can we get real data on work quality from well-rested doctors when the comparison is between thirty and thirty-four hour shifts?

That's an interesting angle, and I'm sure you're right. I'd like to read more. Do you have a source for that?
[0] says: > Handover is clearly a time when errors or omissions in key information can have critical consequences. Statistics from the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death showed that in 13.5 per cent of cases where patients died within four days of admission, poor communication − between and within clinical teams − was an important issue contributing to the adverse outcomes.

Might be a starting point at least.

[0] https://www.hsj.co.uk/technology-and-innovation/taking-the-r...

This is the usual answer but countries closer to the European Working Time Directive have better outcomes.
Four shifts a day of 8 hours schedule will solve that. 2 hours is a very long overlap to hand over.