Surgical residents prefer flexible work hours

Editor's Note

This study finds that general surgery residents strongly prefer work hour policies that allow them the flexibility to work longer hours when needed to provide patient care over the standard, more restrictive work schedules required by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.

The preference for flexibility becomes stronger as residents progress through 5 years of training. Only 14% of residents expressed a preference for standard restrictive work policies.

In the Flexibility in Duty Hour Requirements for Surgical Trainees (FIRST) Trial, there were several differences in residents’ perceptions of aspects of their education, well-being, and patient care that differed between standard and flexible duty hour policies. Our objective was to assess whether these perceptions differed by level of training.