A mid year comparison study of career satisfaction and emotional states between residents and faculty at one academic medical center.

Full Abstract

BACKGROUND:
The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education's (ACGME) new requirements raise multiple challenges for academic medical centers. We sought to evaluate career satisfaction, emotional states, positive and negative experiences, work hours and sleep among residents and faculty simultaneously in one academic medical center after implementation of the ACGME duty hour requirements.

METHODS:
Residents and faculty (1330) in the academic health center were asked to participate in a confidential survey; 72% of the residents and 66% of the faculty completed the survey.

RESULTS:
Compared to residents, faculty had higher levels of satisfaction with career choice, competence, importance and usefulness; lower levels of anxiousness and depression. The most positive experiences for both groups corresponded to strong interpersonal relationships and educational value; most negative experiences to poor interpersonal relationships and issues perceived outside of the physician's control.Approximately 13% of the residents and 14% of the faculty were out of compliance with duty hour requirements. Nearly 5% of faculty reported working more than 100 hours per week. For faculty who worked 24 hour shifts, nearly 60% were out of compliance with the duty-hour requirements.

CONCLUSION:
Reasons for increased satisfaction with career choice, positive emotional states and experiences for faculty compared to residents are unexplained. Earlier studies from this institution identified similar positive findings among advanced residents compared to more junior residents. Faculty are more frequently at risk for duty-hour violations. If patient safety is of prime importance, faculty, in particular, should be compliant with the duty hour requirements. Perhaps the ACGME should contain faculty work hours as part of its regulatory function.

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Author information

Author/s: Girard, Donald E (DE); Choi, Dongseok (D); Dickey, Jamie (J); Wessel, Kristen (K); Austin, Donald (D);

Affiliation: Graduate Medical Education, School of Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA. girardd(-atsign-)ohsu.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Comparative Study; Journal Article

Journal: BMC medical education (BMC Med Educ), published in England. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2006-; vol 6 (issue ) : pp 36

Dates: Created 2006/08/21; Completed 2006/09/18; Revised 2008/11/20;

PMID: 16827939, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Academic Medical Centers - manpower; standards
Accreditation
Attitude of Health Personnel
Career Choice
Cohort Studies
Emotions
Faculty, Medical - standards
Guideline Adherence
Health Care Surveys
Humans
Internship and Residency - standards

Internship and Residency - standards
Interpersonal Relations
Job Satisfaction
Oregon
Personnel Staffing and Scheduling - standards; statistics & numerical data
Risk Assessment
Safety
Sleep
Time Factors
Work Schedule Tolerance
Workload - psychology; standards; statistics & numerical data

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