On-site Night Float by Attending Physicians: A Model to Improve Resident Education and Patient Care

Abstract

Background: In 2003, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education instituted common duty hour limits, and in 2008 the Institute of Medicine recommended additional limits on continuous duty hours. Using a night-float system is an accepted approach for adhering to duty hour mandates. Objective: To determine the effect of an on-site night-float attending physician on resident education and patient care. Methods: Night-float residents and daytime ward residents were surveyed at the end of their rotation about the impact of an on-site night-float attending physician on education and quality of patient care. Responses were provided on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1, strongly agree, to 5, strongly disagree. Results: Overall, 92 of the 140 distributed surveys were completed (66% response rate). Night-float residents found the night-float attending physician to be helpful with cross-cover issues (mean = 2.00), initial history and physical examination (mean = 1.56), choosing appropriate diagnostic tests (mean = 1.79), developing a treatment plan (mean = 1.74), and improving overall patient care (mean = 1.91). Daytime ward residents were very satisfied with the quality of the admission workups (mean = 1.78), tests and diagnostic procedures (mean = 1.76), and initial treatment plan (mean = 1.62) provided by the night-float service. Conclusion: A night-float system that includes on-site attending physician supervision can provide a valuable opportunity for resident education and may help improve the quality of patient care.