A mid year comparison study of career satisfaction and emotional states between residents and faculty at one academic medical center

Residents and faculty (1330) in the academic health center were asked to participate in a confidential survey; 72% of the residents and 66% of the faculty completed the survey.Compared to residents, faculty had higher levels of satisfaction with career choice, competence, importance and usefulness; lower levels of anxiousness and depression. The most positive experiences for both groups corresponded to strong interpersonal relationships and educational value; most negative experiences to poor interpersonal relationships and issues perceived outside of the physician's control.Approximately 13% of the residents and 14% of the faculty were out of compliance with duty hour requirements. Nearly 5% of faculty reported working more than 100 hours per week. For faculty who worked 24 hour shifts, nearly 60% were out of compliance with the duty-hour requirements.Reasons for increased satisfaction with career choice, positive emotional states and experiences for faculty compared to residents are unexplained. Earlier studies from this institution identified similar positive findings among advanced residents compared to more junior residents. Faculty are more frequently at risk for duty-hour violations. If patient safety is of prime importance, faculty, in particular, should be compliant with the duty hour requirements. Perhaps the ACGME should contain faculty work hours as part of its regulatory function.The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education's (ACGME) new requirements limiting work hours, requiring demonstration of competence in six core areas, and emphasizing the importance of a humane, collegial environment, raise multiple challenges for academic medical centers; i.e., for example new resources to care for patients whose care cannot be provided by residents, new curricula to be learned, taught, and methods developed for evaluation are just two. From recently published reports, we know more about the course of emotion and attitude change during training and