Keeping Residents in the Dark: Do Night-Float Rotations Provide a Valuable Educational Experience?

OBJECTIVE: To qualify and characterize resident overnight activity.

DESIGN: A prospective 3-phase study was conducted of surgical residents with attention to activities performed on the overnight rotation: needs assessment, direct observation of activities, and feedback.

SETTING: This study was conducted at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. This is both a tertiary referral center and the only American College of Surgeons (ACS) verified level 1 trauma center in the state.

PARTICIPANTS: This study included current surgical residents within the residency program.

RESULTS: During the study period, 270 pages were individually recorded, with 60% of these pages defined as time-sensitive activities. In addition, most of the pages involved pressing patient-care issues irrespective of postgraduate year level. Analyses revealed that residents spend most of their time performing educational activities (62%). On feedback, residents reported overall satisfaction with the learning opportunities during night-shift (6.4/7.0) and indicated their perceptions of an adequate balance of service and education on night float (6.6/7.0). This correlates with our annual rotation assessment where residents identify night-float as an overall positive experience which provides educational benefit.

CONCLUSIONS: Work-hour restrictions induce residency programs to adapt to new training models. Our results report a breakdown of resident activities while on night-float and demonstrate that overnight shifts continue to provide important educational opportunities during training.