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On June 23, 2010, the 16-member Duty Hour Task Force of the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) published new recommendations on resident duty hours. Incorporated into the proposed guidelines (most of which were approved recently to go into effect in July 2011) were many of the Institute of Medicine's 2008 duty-hours suggestions. One of the most dramatic changes is that first-year (PGY-1) residents will be limited to 16-hour shifts. The IOM also recommended uninterrupted 5-hour sleep periods for second-year (PGY-2) and more-senior residents; the ACGME modified this suggestion to a “strategic napping” guideline in their final duty-hours standards. Overall, these mandates will translate to substantial changes that coul…