Quality Data to Inform Future Residency Duty Hour Policies
According to results from the first-ever national multicenter randomized trial of resident duty hour policies, surgical residents can safely work more flexible shifts than allowed under the current restrictions of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) without compromising patient safety.
Findings from the study, called the FIRST Trial, were released online Tuesday in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented concurrently before the 2016 Academic Surgical Congress.
The FIRST Trial: Flexibility In duty hour Requirements for Surgical Trainees Trial
Principal Investigator
Karl Bilimoria, MD, MS, FACS
American College of Surgeons Faculty Scholar
Director, Surgical Outcomes and Quality Improvement Center at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL
The FIRST Trial is funded and supported by the American College of Surgeons, American Board of Surgery, and Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.
This summary video provides an overview of how the FIRST Trial was conducted and highlights its key findings that less restrictive, more flexible duty hours are safe for patients, reduce patient handoffs, lead to greater resident satisfaction, and better continuity of care.
Produced by the American College of Surgeons and American Board of Surgery (February 3, 2016).
Press Releases
Extending the Length of Surgical Trainees’ Shifts Does Not Affect Surgical Patients’ Safety
February 2, 2016
Results of first-ever national multicenter randomized trial of resident duty hour policies show flexible, less restrictive policies are safe for patients, reduce handoffs, and lead to greater resident satisfaction.
Read more
Hear from Leaders in American Surgery
David B. Hoyt, MD, FACS
David B. Hoyt, MD, FACS, American College of Surgeons Executive Director, explains why the Trial’s results are good news for patients.
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Frank R. Lewis, MD, FACS
Frank R. Lewis, MD, FACS, American Board of Surgery Executive Director, explains why the results from the FIRST Trial fill an important gap in surgical residency training research.
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Join the Conversation
Twitter: #FIRSTTrialSurgery
FIRST Trial News Coverage
The ACS has collected news coverage of the FIRST Trial results all in one place.