Public opinion of resident physician work hours in 2022

The purpose of this study was to characterize public awareness and opinion regarding resident physician work hours in the United States.

We conducted a nationally representative cross-sectional survey among adults in the United States. Demographic quota-based sampling was conducted by Qualtrics to match 2020 United States Census estimates of age, sex, race, and ethnicity. Descriptive statistics are presented. Hypothesis testing was conducted to identify characteristics associated with agreement with current resident physician work-hour policies.

4763 adults in the United States participated in the study. 97.1% of the public believes that resident physicians should not work 24-hour shifts and 95.6% believe the current 80 hours resident work week is too long. 66.4% of the participants reported that the maximum shift duration should be 12 consecutive hours or fewer, including 22.9% who recommended a maximum shift length of 8 hours. Similarly, 66.4% reported that maximum weekly work hours should be 59 or fewer, including 24.9% who recommended a maximum of 40 weekly work hours.

Nearly all US adults disagree with current work-hour policies for resident physicians. Public opinion supports limiting shifts to no more than 12 consecutive hours and weekly work to no more than 60 hours, which is in sharp contrast to current regulations that permit of 28 hours shifts and 80 hours of work per week.