Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency: A Time Motion Analysis Evaluating Time Allocation and Duty Hours

Our study seeks to examine the distribution of residents' time spent across a work week and identify strategies for safely reducing nonessential tasks while maintaining necessary training experience.

observational time-motion study.

single academic tertiary medical center.

Among 27 Obstetrics and Gynecology residents, 14 (51.9%) were rotating at home institution between April and June 2024 and were eligible to participate in the study. Eligible participants were shadowed by trained observers who recorded their clinical and nonclinical activities. To achieve this, training sessions were structured to include a review of the data collection tool. For all shifts, observed duty hours were compared to logged hospital hours using the MedHub system.

Data was collected from 14 (51.9%) residents across eight rotations. In total, 28 observation shifts were completed in their entirety, 10,948 minutes were observed, resulting in 1,002 recorded tasks. Direct care activities comprised the largest share of residents' time (6,499 minutes, 59.4%). Documentation and administration activities were the least observed at 171 (1.6%) and 453 (4.1%) minutes, respectively. No significant differences were found between weekly hours observed and logged hours (p = 0.51).

Understanding residents' workflow and time management is essential for evaluating potential changes in the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) common program requirements. Initiatives aimed at optimizing nonclinical activities, including documentation and administrative responsibilities, may present an opportunity to alleviate residents' workload and support feasible duty-hour adjustments without compromising education or patient care.