Most doctors were against drinking any alcohol while on call (table), but 14% felt that social drinking was acceptable, and one fourth thought that in their specialty some alcohol use is safe.In response to asking how many drinks a doctor in their specialty could safely drink while on call, 94/129 (73%) answered 0, 12/129 (9%) answered 1, 5/129 (4%) answered 2, 6/129 (5%) answered 3, and 13/129 (10%) answered 4 or more.A quarter admitted to drinking alcohol while on call, and 64% and 27% reported having encountered colleagues whom they suspected had used or were impaired by alcohol while on call, respectively.Almost all doctors believed that patients care whether they use alcohol while on call, but doctors were divided about their obligation to inform patients before seeing them.Multivariable analysis showed that sex and specialty were not associated with doctors' responses.Older doctors, however, were more likely to report encountering doctors whom they suspected had used or were impaired by alcohol while on call.
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A 2002 study studied this question.