Resident Work Hours and Working Environment in Otolaryngology

Abstract

--Seventy percent of the otolaryngology--head and neck surgery residents surveyed at six institutions believe that an 80-hour workweek, including being on call every third night with no more than 24 hours of continuous work without sleep, approximates a reasonable, maximum work schedule. Residents working the longest hours expressed concern about rendering substandard care and developing negative attitudes toward patients. Noneducational inefficiencies were identified and solutions were proposed. Demands of residency training, even within guidelines established as reasonable, can have detrimental effects on residents' educational activities and personal life.

Electronic health records and resident workflow: A time-motion study of otolaryngology residents

“…Our prior study was the first time‐motion study to evaluate otolaryngology resident workflow . We identified paperwork as the major contributor to marginal time, which was consistent with a study by Strunk et al Resident time allocation was also compared between a large urban county hospital using a paper medical records system and a veteran's affairs hospital using an EHR. No significant difference in workflow was found between these two institutions, despite using a different medical records system.…”

Implementing Resident Work Hour Limitations: Lessons From the New York State Experience

“…Several prior surveys of surgical and other residents have found that a strong majority of residents support duty hour regulations in principle. [12][13][14][15][16] However, few studies have reported on the perceptions and attitudes of surgical residents who have actually experienced work hour regulations. A report from a surgical residency program in California that voluntarily adopted a 72-hour work week for residents found that actual duty hours remained significantly above the limit, but that surgical residents had higher work satisfaction than other residents.…”

Impact of Duty Hour Limits on Resident Training in Otolaryngology

“…A previous study carried out before the implementation of duty hour limits had shown that a large proportion of residents in otolaryngology—head and neck surgery felt that fatigue had a significant negative impact on patient care and resident education and that the demands of residency had a negative impact on family and personal life 3 . The present study was undertaken approximately 1 year after the institution of the ACGME standards on resident duty hours in an effort to evaluate their initial impact on resident training in the field of otolaryngology—head and neck surgery.…”