Medical students self-reported work hours: perception versus reality.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study was to compare the students' actual work hours with their self-reported work hours during the obstetrics and gynecology clerkship, and to determine whether the number of hours worked correlate with the amount of "scut" reported or students' rating of the quality of the clerkship.


METHODS
Students self-reported work hours were compared against their actual scheduled hours over 2 different academic years. Pearson's correlation was performed to correlate the actual hours with the amount of reported "scut" work and the overall rating of the quality of the clerkship.


RESULTS
The actual hours per week worked by students averaged 59 hours in 2003 and 48 hours in 2004. Students overestimated their work hours both years. Students who worked more hours rated the clerkship lower and the quality of the clerkship significantly improved from 2003 to 2004 (4.2 vs 3.8 P < .03).


CONCLUSIONS
The majority of third-year students overestimate their work hours in obstetrics and gynecology. The rating of the overall quality of the clerkship increase significantly with fewer hours worked, and it is not affected by the amount of "scut" work.
Casey
Colleen
C
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Senapati
Sangeeta
S
White
Casey B
CB
Gruppen
Larry D
LD
Hammoud
Maya M
MM
D002982:Clinical Clerkship; D006176:Gynecology; D009774:Obstetrics; D010465:Perception; D013337:Students, Medical; D013997:Time Factors; D014937:Work / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*