Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Oct;131(10):2211-2218.
doi: 10.1002/lary.29541. Epub 2021 Apr 2.

Initiation of a Night Float System in an Otolaryngology Residency: Resident Perception and Impact on Operative Volume

Chelsea S Hamill  1   2 , Claudia I Cabrera  1   2 , Henna Murthy  1   2 , Sarah Mowry  1   2 , Nicole Maronian  1   2 , Akina Tamaki  1   2
Affiliations

Initiation of a Night Float System in an Otolaryngology Residency: Resident Perception and Impact on Operative Volume

Chelsea S Hamill et al. Laryngoscope. 2021 Oct.

Abstract

Objectives: Evaluate resident perception on implementation of a night float (NF) system to an otolaryngology residency program. We compared these perceptions to Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) case log data.

Methods: A retrospective anonymous survey was sent to residents and alumni graduating between 2015 and 2023. Deidentified ACGME case log information was then examined for key indicator (KI) cases from post graduate year (PGY) 2 and PGY5.

Results: Thirty (93.8%) residents and alumni responded. Residents with NF answered more positively compared to those without NF on following duty hour violations: 80-hour work week, 1-in-7 days off, 1 call every 3 days, adequate time between shifts, and allotted time after a 24-hour shift. Residents most commonly agreed that NF has improved patient care, resident education, and resident morale. Although residents with NF were neutral on PGY2 case volume effects, they disagreed that it affected overall case volume. The only KIs that differed for both PGY2 and PGY5s were airway cases (P = .004 vs P = .002) and bronchoscopy (P = .02 vs P = .006), which were significantly higher for those with NF. Thyroid surgery was the only KI higher for the residents without NF and spanned all PGY levels.

Conclusion: Residents and alumni agreed that NF implementation had a positive effect on duty hour violations. The NF system does not have significant impact on case volume.

Level of evidence: 4 Laryngoscope, 131:2211-2218, 2021.

Keywords: Otolaryngology; graduate medical education; night float; residency; work hour restriction.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

BIBLIOGRAPHY

    1. (ACGME) ACfGME. The ACGME's approach to limit resident duty hours 12 months after implementation: a summary of achievements. 2003. Available at: https://www.acgme.org/Portals/0/PFAssets/PublicationsPapers/dh_dutyhours.... Accessed July 28, 2020.
    1. Professionalism ATFoQCa. The ACGME 2011 duty hour standards: enhancing quality of care, supervision, and resident professional development. acgme.org. 2011.
    1. Weltz AS, Cimeno A, Kavic SM. Strategies for improving education on night-float rotations: a review. J Surg Educ 2015;72:297-301.
    1. Reiter ER, Wong DR. Impact of duty hour limits on resident training in otolaryngology. Laryngoscope 2005;115:773-779.
    1. Brunworth JD, Sindwani R. Impact of duty hour restrictions on otolaryngology training: divergent resident and faculty perspectives. Laryngoscope 2006;116:1127-1130.

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources