Residents' perspective on the impact of the 80-hour workweek policy

The 80-hour workweek was initiated in 2003 to reduce the resident workweek and subsequently improve the safety and quality of patient care.

The purpose is to assess the impact of the 80-hr workweek from a resident's perspective.

We surveyed residents with experience before and after the 80-hr workweek policy. The survey assessed residents' perspective on the impact of the 80-hr workweek on 4 areas: patient care/safety, training experience, resident team functioning, and personal life.

There were 111 respondents (57% female, 65% married, average age = 32 years, 66% primary care residents). We found the 80-hr workweek had the greatest impact in personal self-care and sleep hygiene. Primary care residents reported a significantly more positive impact of the 80-hr workweek on quality of the training compared to specialty residents. There was no difference between the primary care residents and specialty residents for patient care/safety, resident team functioning, and personal life. Gender, marital status, and having children did not impact how residents' evaluated the 80-hr workweek.

Residents, with pre- and post-80-hr workweek experience, reported the policy change as having the greatest benefit on their self-care and personal life significantly more than any other area.