Korean J Med Educ.  2019 Sep;31(3):271-276. 10.3946/kjme.2019.137.

Perceptions of a night float system for intern doctors in an internal medicine program: an Asian perspective

• Tan BY
• Ngiam NJ
• Chang ZY
• Tan SM
• Shen X
• Mok SF
• Subramanian S
• Ooi SB
• Kee AC

• KMID: 2456184
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3946/kjme.2019.137

Abstract

Long duty hours have been associated with significant medical errors, adverse events, and physician "burn-out". An innovative night float (NF) system has been implemented in our internal medicine program to reduce the negative effects of long duty hours associated with conventional full-call systems. However, concerns remain if this would result in inadequate training for interns. We developed a structured questionnaire to assess junior doctors' perceptions of the NF system compared to full calls, in areas of patient safety, medical training, and well-being. Ninety-seven (71%) of the 137 doctors polled responded. Ninety-one (94%) felt the NF system was superior to the full call system. A strong majority felt NF was beneficial for patient safety compared to full call (94% vs. 2%, p<0.001). The NF system was also perceived to reduce medical errors (94% vs. 2%, p<0.001) and reduce physician "burn-out" (95% vs. 5%, p<0.001). Beyond being a practical solution to duty-hour limitations, there was a significant perceived benefit of the NF system compared to the full call in terms of overall satisfaction, patient safety, reducing medical errors and physician "burn-out".

Keyword

After-hours care; Patient safety; Medical education

MeSH Terms

After-Hours Care
Asian Continental Ancestry Group*
Education, Medical
Humans
Internal Medicine*
Medical Errors
Patient Safety
Patient Satisfaction