Factors Affecting Medical Residents’ Decisions to Work After Call

Abstract

Background Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) work-hour restrictions (WHRs) are intended to improve patient safety by reducing resident fatigue. Compliance with ACGME WHRs is not universal. Purpose The purpose of this study was to identify factors that influence residents’ decisions to take a postcall day (PCD) off according to ACGME WHRs. Methods Residents (N = 433) at one university were emailed a link to a survey in 2019. The survey included demographic details and a Discrete Choice Experiment examining influences on resident decisions to take a PCD off. Results One hundred seventy-five residents (40.4%) responded to the survey; 113 residents (26%) completed the survey. Positive feedback from attending physicians about taking PCDs off in the past had the greatest impact on respondents’ decisions to take a PCD off, increasing the probability by 27.3%, followed by chief resident comments about the resident looking tired (16.6% increase), and having never heard their attendings comment about PCDs off as either positive or negative (13.9% increase). Factors that had the largest effect on decreasing the probability of taking a PCD were negative feedback about taking PCDs off (14.3% decrease), continuity of care concerns (10.8% decrease), and whether the resident was looking forward to an assignment (7.9% decrease). Conclusions The most important influencer of residents’ decisions to take a PCD off was related to feedback from their attending physicians, suggesting that compliance with WHRs can be improved by focusing on the residency program’s safety culture.