Abstract
Background
Little is known of the way in which stakeholders in surgical education perceive trainee
workload.
Methods
A web-based survey examining the perception of current resident workload (as a percentage
of daytime activities) was distributed to the faculty and residents in a Canadian
general surgery residency program. The analysis compared the trainee and faculty responses
against a 660-hour resident workload observation dataset.
Results
A total of 17 residents and 16 faculty completed the survey (74%, 67% participation).
The resident estimations of workload were accurate for task categories (r = 0.91)
and individual tasks (r = 0.92). The faculty estimations were accurate for task category
(r = 0.90) but less so for individual tasks (r = 0.78). The residents perceived that
significantly less time was allocated toward educational activities than faculty.
Both of the groups underestimated the amount of time spent on indirect patient care
(IPC).
Conclusion
The faculty overestimate educational tasks as a proportion of workload. Both of the
groups underestimated IPC tasks. This information can guide resident training program
design and be used to bridge gaps between resident and faculty perceptions of resident
workload.
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: July 21, 2022
Accepted:
April 29,
2022
Identification
Copyright
© 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
