Impact of work hour restrictions on resident case experience in an obstetrics and gynecology residency program.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate senior resident case experience before and after enactment of work hour restrictions. STUDY DESIGN: Obstetrics and gynecology experience from 2 postgraduate year 4 classes were evaluated before and after adoption of work hour restrictions. Data were limited to experience obtained during the fourth year of residency. Data were analyzed with the 2-sample t test and Wilcoxon rank sum test, and adjusted for changes in institutional procedural volume. RESULTS: There were significant decreases in resident experience in total abdominal hysterectomy ( P = .018), procedures for genuine stress urinary incontinence ( P = .004), and hysteroscopy ( P = .006). Decreases were seen in resident experience in vaginal birth after cesarean section ( P = .011), primary cesarean section ( P = .31), and vacuum delivery ( P = .007), despite increase in institutional volume. CONCLUSION: Work hour restrictions have had impact on resident case experience in obstetrics and gynecology. Variance in institutional case numbers account for only some of these changes.