Perceived Preparedness of Facial Plastic Surgery Fellows Over Time: A Survey of AAFPRS Fellowship Directors.

Objective: Assess the effects of American Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) resident work hour restrictions on the preparedness of incoming facial plastic surgery fellows as assessed by American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS) fellowship directors.

Methods: Observational survey study evaluating the perception of ACGME resident duty hour change on resident surgical and clinical skills from fellowship directors of AAFPRS fellowship programs in the US. A cross-sectional survey was sent to 47 fellowship directors of AAFPRS fellowship programs. Perceived change in resident clinical and surgical skills were measured using a 5-point Likert scale (1 = significantly improved, 2 = improved, 3 = neither improved nor worsened, 4 = worsened, 5 = significantly worsened) to evaluate 15 benchmarks.

Results: Responses received from 36 fellowship directors. The results indicate no statistically significant perceived trend of ACGME duty hour reform on fellows for AAFPRS fellowships among fellowship directors. However, cohort analysis demonstrated that fellowship directors with more than 10 years of service perceived a more negative impact in 2 clinical benchmarks (assessment/planning and basic exposure) over time.

Conclusions: The study results appear to show no significant perceived trend over time on the effect of duty hour reform on fellows for AAFPRS fellowships among fellowship directors. However, there are some apparent opinion differences between fellowship directors separated by years of service, with more negative perceptions noted in 2 clinical areas by those with more than 10 years of service. This study is in line with the more recent literature that suggests a trend toward a less negative perception of the duty hour change. This may suggest resident education is adapting to the ACGME duty hour regulations.