这里是美国之音慢速英语健康报告。
Being a patient in certain hospitals in the month of July can be dangerous or even deadly. That was the finding of sociology professor David Phillips at the University of California, San Diego, and his student Gwendolyn Barker.
7月份作为病人住进某些医院会很危险甚至会丧命。这是加州圣地亚哥大学社会学教授大卫·菲利普斯和他的学生格温德林·巴克的调查结果。
They examined more than two hundred forty-four thousand death records from across the United States. These were from nineteen seventy-nine to two thousand six. The researchers looked at records that listed "medication errors" as the main cause of death.
他们调查了美国各地从1979年到2006年超过24.4万例死亡记录。研究人员查看了死亡主因登记为“用药失误”的记录。
These medication mistakes included the accidental overdose of a drug or the wrong drug being given or taken. They also included accidents with the use of drugs in medical procedures or operations.
这些“用药失误”包括超剂量意外或错误给药，还包括医疗过程或手术中的用药意外事故。
The researchers found that these mistakes caused ten percent more deaths in July than in other months. They found no similar link for other causes of death or for deaths outside hospitals.
研究人员发现，7月份这种失误导致的死亡事故比其他月份高出10个百分点。他们同时发现医院其他死因或医院外的死亡没有类似的联系。
But what makes July so deadly? The professor and his student believe they know.
但什么原因导致了死亡七月？菲利普斯教授和他的学生认为他们知道原因。
They found that this ten percent increase only happened in counties with teaching hospitals. These are hospitals where new doctors, known as residents, come for more training after medical school.
他们发现，这10个百分点的增长只发生在有教学医院的县。教学医院是新医生，即实习医生从医科学校毕业后接受培训的地方。
Hospitals in the United States employ their newest medical residents every year in the month of ... July.
美国的医院每年聘请新实习医生的时间就在7月。
David Phillips and Gwendolyn Barker believe there is a clear link between deadly medical errors and the arrival of new residents. They also examined hospitals without residency programs. They found no unusual increase in deaths caused by drug errors.
菲利普斯和巴克认为致命医疗事故和新实习医生到岗两者之间有明显的联系。他们还调查了没有实习医生项目的医院，这些医院（7月份）用药失误致死人数没有异常的增加。
Medical residents may stay at a teaching hospital for three years or more. They are given responsibilities for patient care. But they are not supposed to work alone. They are supervised by more experienced doctors.
实习医生可能在教学医院呆3年甚至更久。他们担负护理病人的责任，但他们并非单独工作，而是由较有经验的医生监督指导。
The researchers say teaching hospitals should examine the responsibilities of new doctors. They also say the new residents should be supervised more closely and should be taught more about medication safety.
研究人员表示，教学医院应调查新实习医生的责任。他们还表示，应该给予新实习医生更密切的监督指导，同时教给他们更多关于用药安全的知识。
The researchers say if hospitals do these things, they will reduce medication errors, as well as the costs related to these mistakes.
研究人员称，如果医院这么做，就将能减少医疗失误，同时降低由这些失误导致的高昂代价。
The findings are published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
这项发现发表在《普通内科》杂志上。