Resident - Small Animal Surgery North Carolina State University Cary, North Carolina
Sleep Patterns and Working Hours of Veterinary House Officers: A Cross-Sectional Survey Study. McPhetridge JB1, Dickson R2, Scharf VF1. 1North Carolina State University, Department of Clinical Sciences, Raleigh, NC; 2Washington State University, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Pullman, WA.
Adequate sleep is required for optimal cognitive function, memory assimilation, and technical proficiency of learned skills. Veterinary house officers (VHOs) may be particularly vulnerable to the effects of inadequate sleep due to their limited ability to control their working environment and the rapid accumulation of knowledge expected of them. The objective of this study was to evaluate working hours, on-call responsibilities, and sleep of VHOs in light of recommended sleep guidelines for adults. We hypothesized that VHOs would report inadequate sleep and that this would be associated with working hours and on-call responsibility. A questionnaire was sent to VHOs at nine academic teaching hospitals. Responses from 303 VHOs were analyzed for associations between variables of interest. Most VHOs reported working 11–13 hours on a typical weekday and slept an average of six hours, which is less than the recommended minimum quantity of sleep for adults. Working hours were inversely related to sleep quantity (P < 0.01), and perceived sleep quality was worse when on-call (P < 0.01). Small animal surgery residents were more likely to receive a higher volume of calls and to report to the hospital overnight (P < 0.01). Sleep and working hours were not objectively measured; thus, internal bias may influence these results. These findings raise concern that VHOs obtain inadequate sleep for optimal learning and performance. Working hours and on-call may be important factors contributing to the sleep of VHOs, and training program structure should be evaluated to promote protected time for sleep.