Opinions of Faculty Members on the Assistant Physicians’ Use of Leave of Absence After Night Shift: a Survey Study

Abstract

The opinions of the faculty members on the assistant physicians’ use of leave of absence after night shift matter, given that they play an essential role in their training. In this context, this study was carried out to review the opinions of faculty members on the consequences of assistant physicians’ use of leave of absence after night shift. This single-center, cross-sectional survey study, based on voluntary participation, was conducted with the faculty members of Van Yuzuncu Yil University Faculty of Medicine between February and March 2023. The study population consisted of faculty members in surgical and internal medical science departments. Faculty members in basic medical science departments were not included in the study since assistant physicians in basic medical science departments do not work the night shift. The survey consisted of nine items with checkboxes on participants' demographic data and the consequences of assistant physicians’ use of a leave of absence after night shift on the clinic's functioning, medical specialty training, patient turnovers, and relationships inside and outside the clinic. Of the 137 faculty members, 98 (71.53%) faculty members, 46 in surgical medical science departments and 52 in internal medical science departments, participated in the survey between February and March 2023 in an electronic environment. Of the respondents, 76 (77.5%) were male, and 22 (22.5%) were female. The mean age of the participants was 42.72 ± 4.9 (min. 34, max. 57) years. Of the 98 faculty members who participated in the survey, 84.0% and 79.6% stated that assistant physicians’ use of leave of absence after night shift adversely affected the medical specialty training and the clinic's functioning, respectively. In general, faculty members expressed the opinion that assistant physicians’ use of leave of absence after night shift negatively affected the medical specialty training, the functioning of the clinic, and the work carried out in collaboration with other clinics. There is a need for more comprehensive studies on assistant physicians’ use of leave of absence after night shift. © 2023, Yuzuncu Yil Universitesi Tip Fakultesi. All rights reserved.