If you're referring to the iCOMPARE study, that is patently false. There were no differences in mortality, readmission or other patient safety indicators. Interns reported more dissatisfaction with flexible hour programs (i.e., not long shifts) while program directors felt the opposite. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmoa1810642 https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1800965

There was similarly no difference in patient outcomes for surgical residents. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1515724

Additionally, it is not the long shifts that are the problem. Almost everyone who does this job knows what they're signing up for at this point since your last 2 years of medical school is spent spending thousands of hours around residents. What people I've talked to have a problem with is being undervalued and abused by the healthcare systems on top of these expectations.