Physicians in Latin America are speaking out about napping on the job after a blogger photographed and criticized a resident in Monterrey, Mexico, for falling asleep at 3 a.m. while doing paperwork.
"We are aware that this is a tiring job but doctors are obliged to do their work," the blogger wrote, according to BBC. "There are dozens of patients in need of attention."
The post inspired Juan Carlos, a Mexican physician, to speak out in support of residents who need rest. He created the hashtag #YoTambienMeDormí, or "I also fell asleep," to "expose the differences between the rights of doctors and the rights of patients," Dr. Carlos told BBC. While physicians do not have the right to photograph patients, patients can take defamatory photos of physicians, he told to BBC. Dr. Carlos's tweet has since sparked a flurry of tweets and photos — more than 14,000 on Twitter, according to Buzzfeed — from napping physicians around the world.
Latin American physicians, who often work shifts up to 36 hours, have used the hashtag to highlight their dedication to the profession and that 10 minutes of rest doesn't detract from patient care.
Here, Mexican news outlet Telediario shares a photo of three sleeping physicians.
#YoTambienDormi juju http://t.co/5vUQ4KxjHS
— Isabelita Dure (@IsabelitaDure) May 9, 2015
Interns are limited to 16 hour-shift maximums in the U.S., and more advanced residents are allowed to stay a maximum of four hours after a 24-hour shift.
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