Abstract
In 1989, the internal medicine residency training program at St. John’s Episcopal Hospital changed from a standard one-in-four on-call system to a night float system of resident on call. Using a confidential questionnaire that assessed the opinions of medical nurses, the nurses were asked which system they preferred, and how the change to a night float system of resident on call affected medical resident performance. A significant majority of the nurses preferred night float over a standard system of resident on call. Most nurses responded that because night float allows residents to get more rest, residents make fewer mistakes and are easier to work with. Residents on night float were not considered to be more knowledgeable. The responders indicated that night float did not create confusion about which resident to call for a patient problem.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Report of the Fourth Grand Jury for the April/May Term of 1986 Concerning the Cure and Treatment of a Patient and the Supervision of Interns and Junior Residents at a Hospital in New York County. New York: Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York, 1986;50.
Asch DA, Parker RM. The Libby Zion case: one step forward or two steps backward? N Engl J Med. 1988;318:771–5.
McCall TB. The impact of long working hours on resident physicians. N Engl J Med. 1988;318:775–8.
Levinsky NG. Compounding the error. N Engl J Med. 1988; 318:778–80.
Glickman RM. House-staff training: the need for careful reform. N Engl J Med. 1988;318:780–2.
Wallerstein SJ, Rosner F, Wallace EZ. House staff stress. N Y State J Med. 1989;89:454- 7.
Reiner SC. The impact of the new code regulations on postgraduate medical education in New York State. N Y State J Med. 1989;89:457–61.
Slocum P. The new health code regulations concerning postgraduate medical education in New York State. N Y State J Med. 1990;90:39- 40.
Thorpe KE. House staff supervision and working hours. Implications of regulatory change in New York State. JAMA. 1990;263:3177- 81.
Root RK, Nation CL. Legislated limits for housestaff training. Ann Intern Med. 1992;116: 694–6.
Carey JC, Fishburne JI. A method to limit working hours and reduce sleep deprivation in an obstetrics and gynecology residency program. Obstet Gynecol. 1989;74:668–72.
Lofgren RP, Gottlieb DJ, Williams RA. Rich EC. Post-call transfer of resident responsibility: its effect on patient care. J Gen Intern Med. 1990;5:501–5.
Daigler GE, Welliver RC, Stapleton FB. New York State health code 405 update. Am J Dis Child. 1991;145:428.
Kelly A, Marks F, Westhoff C, Rosen M. The effect of the New York State restrictions on resident work hours. Obstet Gynecol. 1991; 78:468–73.
Gottlieb DJ, Parenti CM, Peterson CA, Lofgren RP. Effect of a change in house staff work schedule on resource utilization and patient care. Arch Intern Med. 1991;151:2065–70.
Laine C. Goldman L, Soukup JR. Hayes JG. The impact of a regulation restricting medical house staff working hours on the quality of patient care. JAMA. 1993;269: 374–8.
Yedidia MJ, Lipkin M Jr, Schwartz MD, Hirschkorn C. Doctors as workers: work-hour regulations and interns’ perceptions of responsibility, quality of care, and training. J Gen Intern Med. 1993;8:429–35.
Conigliaro J, Frishman WH, Lazar EJ, Croen L. Internal medicine housestaff and attending physician perceptions of the impact of the New York State Section 405 regulations on working conditions and supervision of residents in two training programs. J Gen Intern Med. 1993;8:502–7.
Petersen LA, Brennan TA, O’Neil AC, Cook EF, Lee TH. Does house-staff discontinuity of care increase the risk of preventable adverse events? Ann Intern Med. 1994;121:866–72.
Foster HW, Seltzer VL. Accommodating to restrictions on residents’ working hours. Acad Med. 1991;66:94–7.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Buff, D.D., Shabti, R. The night float system of resident on call. J Gen Intern Med 10, 400–402 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02599842
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02599842