Accommodating to restrictions on residents' working hours.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Public Health Policy

Background:

• New York State enacted regulations in 1988 to limit resident physician work hours.
• These regulations significantly impact obstetrics and gynecology residency programs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To survey U.S. obstetrics and gynecology residency program directors regarding changes to resident work hours.
• To identify strategies for adapting residency programs to new work hour regulations.

Main Methods:

• A survey was distributed to 296 U.S. obstetrics and gynecology residency programs.
• Data from 26 programs that had implemented changes were collated and analyzed.

Main Results:

• A prototypic call schedule incorporating a night float system was developed.
• Creative scheduling is feasible for residency programs adapting to work hour limits.

Conclusions:

• Obstetrics and gynecology residencies can adapt to new work hour regulations through innovative scheduling.
• Maintaining current educational and patient care standards may require additional resources.