Surgical training, duty-hour restrictions, and implications for meeting the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education core competencies: views of surgical interns compared with program directors.
OBJECTIVE
To describe the perspectives of surgical interns regarding the implications of the new Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) duty-hour regulations for their training.


METHODS
We compared responses of interns and surgery program directors on a survey about the proposed ACGME mandates.


METHODS
Eleven general surgery residency programs.


METHODS
Two hundred fifteen interns who were administered the survey during the summer of 2011 and a previously surveyed national sample of 134 surgery program directors.


METHODS
Perceptions of the implications of the new duty-hour restrictions on various aspects of surgical training, including the 6 ACGME core competencies of graduate medical education, measured using 3-point scales (increase, no change, or decrease).


RESULTS
Of 215 eligible surgical interns, 179 (83.3%) completed the survey. Most interns believed that the new duty-hour regulations will decrease continuity with patients (80.3%), time spent operating (67.4%), and coordination of patient care (57.6%), while approximately half believed that the changes will decrease their acquisition of medical knowledge (48.0%), development of surgical skills (52.8%), and overall educational experience (51.1%). Most believed that the changes will improve or will not alter other aspects of training, and 61.5% believed that the new standards will decrease resident fatigue. Surgical interns were significantly less pessimistic than surgery program directors regarding the implications of the new duty-hour restrictions on all aspects of surgical training (P < .05 for all comparisons).


CONCLUSIONS
Although less pessimistic than program directors, interns beginning their training under the new paradigm of duty-hour restrictions have significant concerns about the effect of these regulations on the quality of their training.
Department of Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.
Ryan M
RM
Antiel
Kyle J
KJ
Van Arendonk
Darcy A
DA
Reed
Kyla P
KP
Terhune
John L
JL
Tarpley
John R
JR
Porterfield
Daniel E
DE
Hall
David L
DL
Joyce
Sean C
SC
Wightman
Karen D
KD
Horvath
Stephanie F
SF
Heller
David R
DR
Farley
D000288:Administrative Personnel; D000328:Adult; D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D013502:General Surgery / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D010561:Personnel Staffing and Scheduling / Q000592:standards*; D014940:Work Schedule Tolerance