Long hours and little sleep: Work schedules of residents in obstetrics andgynecology

Objective: To investigate residents' work schedules and their attitudes tow ard limiting their hours. Methods: An anonymous survey regarding resident work hours and call schedul es was administered to the 4674 obstetric-gynecologic residents who took th e year 2000 Council on Resident Education in Obstetrics and Gynecology in-t raining examination. Results: A total of 4510 surveys were analyzed (96.5%). Three of four (75.5 %) respondents reported working between 61 and 100 hours each week. Most (7 1.3%) reported sleeping less than 3 hours while on night call. Eight of ten reported having postcall clinical responsibilities. The reported number of hours on call declined and the reported number of hours of sleep increased with year of residency. Three of four residents wanted limits on their wor k hours. Residents who reported longer on-call hours or less sleep during n ight shift were significantly more likely to want a restriction on work hou rs. Fatigue was the most commonly selected reason (77.6%) followed by "need more personal time" (76.3%), and "fear of compromising quality of care" (5 9.8%). Women were more concerned about fatigue than were men. Among residen ts who did not want work hour restrictions, "additional surgical experience " was the most commonly selected reason (69.0%). Conclusion: Residents in obstetrics and gynecology report working long hour s, and experiencing periods of little sleep. Most want their work hours to be limited. Fatigue is a major concern among residents that want their hour s limited. A sizable minority worries that such limits might also limit the ir experience. (Obstet Gynecol 2001;97:1015-8. (C) 2001 by The American Col lege of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.).