Nigerian surgical trainees' work schedule: it is time for a change!
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Authors
Ndegbu, Chinedu Udochukwu
Issue Date
2021-05-27
Journal
Type
Article
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Keywords
Cross-sectional study
Internship
Nigeria
Patient safety
Questionnaire
Residency
Staff wellbeing
Surgical training
Survey
Unregulated work schedules
Work schedules
Workforce
Working hours
Workload
Internship
Nigeria
Patient safety
Questionnaire
Residency
Staff wellbeing
Surgical training
Survey
Unregulated work schedules
Work schedules
Workforce
Working hours
Workload
Journal Title
World Journal of Surgery
Volume
Issue
Begin page
End page
Abstract
Background: Unregulated work schedules have deleterious effects on trainees' productivity and patients' safety. For these reasons, duty hours have been capped in many developed countries. Such regulations, however, appear to be lacking in many parts of Africa, and the effects of unregulated work hours in this part of the world have only been scantily documented. This study evaluated the work schedule of Nigerian surgical trainees, and its impact on their wellbeing, as well as assessed the perception of trainees towards capped duty hours.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 650 Nigerian Resident Doctors in surgical specialties was conducted in November 2020. Enquiries were made about their work schedules using a purpose-designed questionnaire, developed using Google Forms®. The data were analysed using the IBM SPSS version 23.
Results: The mean weekly work hours of surgical residents was 122.72 ± 34.17 h. Majority (228, 40.4%) of the residents had cumulative call hours of ≥ 72 h per week. One-half (283, 50.1%) of them worked continuously for up to 48-72 h during calls, with mean daily sleep hours of 3.53 ± 1.42 h during calls. The majority (558, 98.8%) of respondents had post-call clinical responsibilities. Seventy-five percent of the respondents reported hazards from prolonged work hours, and an overwhelming majority (530, 93.8%) desire official limits on work hours.
Conclusion: Prolonged, unregulated work schedules appear to be the norm among Nigerian surgical trainees. This trend calls for urgent measures, to avoid potentially catastrophic consequences on both physicians and patients.
Citation
Ubom AE, Adesunkanmi AO, Ndegbu CU, Balogun SA, Ajekwu SC, Sowemimo SO, Olugbami AM, Ekhaiyeme PA, Olasehinde O, Awowole IO, Ijarotimi OA. Nigerian Surgical Trainees' Work Schedule: It is Time for a Change! World J Surg. 2021 May 27. doi: 10.1007/s00268-021-06182-5. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34046691.