M.D. Of all the issues facing anesthesiology residencies today, the resident workload is perhaps the most controversial. This difficult task becomes even more important when one considers the relative downsizing of programs across the country and the decrease in actual numbers of residents. These problems result in overworked residents and understaffed services, a dangerous problem to morale, patient safety and the successful continuation of anesthesiology programs nationwide. Residency programs are described as highly stressful environments. People are motivated by the lowest set of unmet needs.
Physiological needs are the lowest in the hierarchy and include sleep, food, etc.
When unmet in residents, these needs drive their behavior. Lack of leisure time, feelings of inadequacy and sleep deprivation are common in residency programs. The need to sleep certainly takes precedence over learning. The anesthesiology residency is difficult by definition. The isolation of the operating room and the demand for absolute concentration unquestionably causes mental fatigue in their own right.