• Grace A Lin, David C Beck, Anita L Stewart, and Jane M Garbutt.
• Division of General Internal Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, Box 1364, SFGH, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA. glin@medsfgh.ucsf.edu
• J Gen Intern Med. 2007 Jul 1; 22 (7): 969-75.

BackgroundMandatory work hour limitations for residents began in July 2003. There has been little evaluation of the impact of the new limitations on Internal Medicine residency training.ObjectiveTo assess Internal Medicine residents' perceptions of the impact of work hour limitations on clinical experiences, patient care, resident education, and well-being, and their compliance with the limitations.Design And ParticipantsCross-sectional survey administered to Internal Medicine residents at 1 large U.S. teaching hospital.MeasurementsResident perceptions using 5-point Likert scales, and self-reported compliance. Exploratory factor analysis was used to identify underlying domains and develop scales.ResultsThe survey response rate was 85%. Five domains were identified by factor analysis: 1) clinical experience, 2) patient care and safety, 3) communication, 4) satisfaction with training, and 5) work-rest balance. Residents perceived work hour limitations to have a negative impact on clinical experience (mean scale score 1.84, 1 = negative, 5 = positive), patient care and safety (2.64), and communication domains (1.98). Effects on satisfaction (3.12) and work-rest balance domains (2.95) were more positive. Senior residents perceived more negative effects of work hour limitations than interns. Compliance was difficult; 94% interns and 70% residents reported violating work hour limits. Patient care and teaching duties were the main reasons for work hour violations.ConclusionsThis study suggests that the current work hour limitations may be having unintended negative consequences on residency training. Ongoing monitoring to evaluate the impact of program changes as a result of work hour regulation is crucial to improving residency training.

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