Poll: Faculty wary of fewer resident hours

ROCHESTER, Minn., July 23 (UPI) -- U.S. medical professors seem to agree that cutting medical residents' hours helps their well-being, but they still worry about the effect on patients.

According to a new Mayo Clinic survey of 111 faculty members at 39 internal medicine residency programs at U.S. medical schools, 87 percent felt shorter resident hours would worsen the continuity of patient care, while 66 percent thought residents' communication with patients and their families would suffer, and 40 percent believed cutting residents' work hours would have a negative impact on the overall quality of patient care.

"These faculty, who have the most contact with residents, believe that duty-hour limitations have adversely affected important aspects of residents' patient care, education and professionalism, as well as the workload and satisfaction of faculty teachers," the study authors said. "Residency programs should continue to look for ways to optimize experiences for residents and faculty within the confines of the duty-hour limitations."

However, the poll also showed 81 percent of responding medical professors felt easing the trainees' hours would improve residents' well-being, while 85 percent agreed the residents would have less fatigue and 81 percent said they would have a better "personal-professional life balance."

New regulations taking effect in 2003 cut medical residents' characteristically long work shifts amid concerns that the overworked and tired trainees would be more vulnerable to medical mistake.

Results of the survey, done in 2005, appear in the July 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.