Changes in inpatient staffing following implementation of new residency work hours

Abstract

Background: In 2011, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education added additional resident work-hour restrictions that limited the number of hours residents could work, with increased emphasis on attending supervision.

Objective: Our objective was to determine how residency programs have responded to residency work hours, specifically assessing residency night float systems and in-house attending physicians.

Design: In May 2012, an electronic survey was sent to all US pediatric residency training programs via the Association of Pediatric Program Directors listserv with e-mail reminders to nonresponding programs. We analyzed data to assess the use of resident night float systems, admission caps, and attending physicians in-house at night.

Results: Out of 198 programs contacted, 152 programs responded (77% response rate). Residency programs utilizing a night float system increased from 43% to 71% after new work hours were implemented. Overall use of resident admission caps did not change significantly. Twenty-three percent of programs increased the number of attending physicians in-house at night; 57% of those programs increased the number of pediatric hospitalist attendings, whereas 37% increased the number of pediatric intensivists. There is a trend toward increased pediatric hospitalist attending in-house 24/7 coverage. Of programs without 24/7 coverage, 26% plan to add coverage within 5 years. Only 12% of programs have no in-house attending coverage at night.

Conclusions: Although programs vary in their response to changes in residency work restrictions, they most commonly utilize night float systems and increased the amount of in-house attending coverage at night, especially pediatric hospitalist attendings. Many programs plan to add 24/7 pediatric hospitalist coverage within 5 years.