Effect of the 80-Hour Workweek on Resident Burnout

HYPOTHESIS With the introduction of the newly mandated restrictions on resident work hours, we expected improvement in subjective feelings of personal accomplishment and lessened emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. DESIGN Residents and faculty members completed an anonymous online Maslach Burnout Inventory Human Services Survey (3rd ed; Consulting Psychologist Press Inc, Palo Alto, Calif) and work-hour registry before and after implementation of new restrictions. SETTING Urban, university-based department of surgery. PARTICIPANTS All house staff (n = 37) and faculty (n = 27). INTERVENTION Introduction of new Institutional Standards for Resident Duty Hours 2003. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Resident work hours and levels of emotional exhaustion, perceived degree of depersonalization, and personal accomplishment. RESULTS Resident work hours per week decreased from 100.7 to 82.6 (P