Emergency medicine residency faculty scheduling: current practice and recent changes.
OBJECTIVE
To assess current emergency medicine faculty scheduling practices, preferences, and recent changes.


METHODS
Mail survey.


METHODS
All emergency medicine residency program directors and full-time faculty.


METHODS
Questions were asked about current faculty scheduling practices, preferences, and recent changes.


RESULTS
Eighty-five percent (79 of 93) of the programs and 63% (606 of 961) of the full-time faculty responded. Faculty most commonly worked a combination of 8- and 12-hour shifts. Seventy-five percent of full-time faculty stated that they would prefer to work 8-hour shifts. Eighty-three percent of those who work some or all 8-hour shifts preferred 8-hour shifts; 21% of those working 12-hour shifts preferred the same (P < .0005; test of proportions difference, 62%; 95% confidence interval, 55% to 69%). Over the past 5 years, 40% of programs had shortened shift lengths, and the number of night shifts worked per month and/or the number of nights in a row worked per faculty decreased for 34%.


CONCLUSIONS
Residency faculty prefer and have moved toward working shorter shifts. They are also working fewer night shifts per month and fewer night shifts in a row.
Steele
M T
MT
Department of Emergency Medicine, Truman Medical Center, University of Missouri-Kansas City Schools of Pharmacy.
Watson
W A
WA
D000046:Academic Medical Centers; D000328:Adult; D003625:Data Collection; D004635:Emergency Medicine / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005180:Faculty, Medical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D010561:Personnel Staffing and Scheduling / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D014481:United States; D000078329:Workforce; D016526:Workload / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*