A group of doctors have rallied together to defend a medical resident who was ridiculed for taking a nap at 3:00 AM. The photo above was taken and shared online by a blogger in Mexico. “We are aware that this is a tiring job but doctors are obliged to do their work,” wrote the blogger. “There are dozens of patients in need of attention.”
Junior doctors in Mexico are expectd to work shifts lasting up to 36 hours or 80-hour work weeks during their final years of training. Dr. Juan Carlos saw the blog and decided it was time to defend the young resident. He shared a picture and the following tweet with the hashtag #YoTambienMeDormi, which means “I’ve also fallen asleep.”
“As a doctor here in Mexico, it’s illegal to take a picture of a patient without their prior consent, even if it’s for medical purposes,” Dr. Carlos told the BBC. “But a patient can take a photo of a doctor with the sole purpose of damaging our reputation.”
After Dr. Carlos started #YoTambienMeDormi, more than 17,000 people have come forward to support junior doctors like the young woman who was photographed.
Before long hundreds of doctors and residents came forward on social media to share photos of themselves and co-workers asleep at work.
#YoTambienMeDormi 36 horas seguidas de trabajo sin parar son imposibles sin 10 minutos de descanzo pic.twitter.com/kN3dRlSCyZ
— MD. Pao Pérez (@pao_perezf) May 16, 2015
“36 consecutive hours of non-stop work are impossible without 10 minutes of rest” wrote Dr. Pao Perez in a tweet. Medical resident Karla Tobar agreed that doctors, nurses, and students all “take advantage of those few minutes of sleep” wherever they can.
Aprovechando esos minutos de sueño en donde sea 😅 😴#LaVidaDeInterno #MedLife #YoTambienMeDormi #SeSufrePeroSeGoza pic.twitter.com/OnuvyWzu8Y
— Karla Tobar (@K7Tobar20) June 5, 2017
Y pues #YoTambienMeDormí y con boca abierta y todo… agotada totaaaaal pic.twitter.com/DvJLiDzz3s
— Alejandra Orjuela Z (@malejaoz) September 16, 2016
Cuidando la bata! #yotambienmedormi #paraquemedejansolosisabenquemeportomal la segunda de la guardia! pic.twitter.com/3rkJYgHmcu
— Edgard Diaz (@911EDiaz) September 7, 2016
Daaaaactaaaaaar la px sesta muriendaaaaa!! #yotambienmedormi pic.twitter.com/wAj5cW4Yfb
— El amor de tu vida (@Esa_uDanielDV) August 20, 2016
Dr. Marcela Cueva argued that young residents are not treated like humans with “normal physiological needs,” and a nap at work doesn’t mean they aren’t taking care of their patients. “The problem is that nowadays the doctor-patient relationship has been damaged and social media is part of the reason,” she told the BBC. “People are more likely to write when they go through bad experiences rather than good ones.”
Mexico isn’t the only country that pushes its medical staff to the absolute limit. Many European countries have begun to put limits on how many consecutive hours their junior staff can work without a break for rest. In the 1990s, some junior docs in the UK had 100-hour work weeks. After a government mandate was passed in 2009, junior doctors were given a 48-hour work week target.
The blogger has since deleted their post and the hospital in Monterrey, Mexico confirmed with the BBC that no disciplinary action was taken against the young resident.
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