A Nationwide Twenty Year Analysis of Resident Operative Trauma Experiences: Pre & Post Work Hour Reform

Abstract

Introduction: The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) implemented new work hour rules for all U.S. residency programs beginning on July 1, 2003, limiting all housestaff to working 80 hours each week. This led to a significant shift in the culture and workflow of American teaching hospitals, and may have impacted the training of general surgery residents, who often worked many hours in excess of this limit prior to the ACGME regulations. the aim of this study is to assess the impact of the ACGME-mandated work hour reform on operative trauma case volume of graduating general surgery residents.