title: Students' educational experiences and interaction with residents on night shifts.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to investigate whether increased night shifts for students on paediatric rotations had any negative impact on their overall quality of educational experiences in light of the implementation of duty-hour restrictions.
  
  
  METHODS
  Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from 30 students on paediatric rotations during the academic year 2011/12. Students completed two questionnaires, one in response to their experiences during the day shifts and another in response to their experiences during the night shifts. Only 25 cases were retained for the final analyses. The non-parametric Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to analyse the quantitative data, and constant comparative thematic analyses, as described by Creswell, were used to analyse the qualitative data. [Do] increased nights shifts for students … [have] any negative impact on their overall quality of educational experiences[?] RESULTS: The results indicated that students' perceived quality of experiences during the night shifts was greater, compared with their day shifts. Students reported having more time to socialise during the night shifts. They further reported that informal ways of learning, such as impromptu teaching and spontaneous discussions on clinical problems, were more beneficial, and these often occurred in abundance during the night shifts as opposed to the scheduled didactic teaching sessions that occur during the day shifts.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study documented many unanticipated benefits of night shifts. The feeling of cohesiveness of the night team deserves further exploration, as this can be linked to better performance outcomes. More consideration should be given to implementing night shifts as a regular feature of clerkships.
authors.affiliation: Pediatrics Department, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
authors.forename: Jocelyn
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schiller
authors.affiliation: Pediatrics Department, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
authors.forename: Max
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sokoloff
authors.affiliation: Office of Curriculum, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: Chosang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tendhar
authors.affiliation: Pediatrics Department, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.affiliation: Pediatrics Department, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Christner
mesh_terms: D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D007858:Learning; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000193:education*; D010820:Physicians; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires