Nigerian Surgical Trainees' Work Schedule: It is Time for a Change!

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Training
• Occupational Health

Background:

• Unregulated work schedules negatively affect trainee productivity and patient safety.
• Duty hour regulations are common in developed nations but lacking in many African regions.
• Limited documentation exists on the impact of unregulated work hours in African healthcare settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the work schedules of Nigerian surgical trainees.
• To assess the impact of these schedules on trainee well-being.
• To gauge trainees' perceptions regarding capped duty hours.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 650 Nigerian Resident Doctors in surgical specialties.
• A purpose-designed questionnaire, developed using Google Forms®, was used to collect data on work schedules.
• Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS version 23.

Main Results:

• Surgical residents reported a mean of 122.72 ± 34.17 work hours per week.
• Half of the residents worked continuously for 48-72 hours, with an average of 3.53 hours of sleep during calls.
• 98.8% had post-call clinical responsibilities, and 93.8% desired official limits on work hours.

Conclusions:

• Prolonged, unregulated work schedules are prevalent among Nigerian surgical trainees.
• This situation poses significant risks to both physicians and patients.
• Urgent implementation of measures to regulate work hours is necessary.