Night Float vs. Traditional Call in Interventional Radiology: Impacts on Resident Wellness and Nighttime Clinical Service.

Rationale and objectives: To evaluate the impact of an Interventional Radiology resident night float system on resident well-being and clinical workflow.

Materials and methods: This study spanned a period of 12 months, 6 months in which residents worked on night using a traditional call system without guaranteed post-call days, and 6 months of a night float system in which a night float dedicated resident was taking a week of night calls, with no daytime duties. "IR short communication notes", and "Full patient consult notes", documented by the on-call- resident between 6 PM and 7 AM were reviewed. The overall number of notes and the number of notes documented per resident were compared between the two periods. Additionally, current and alumni residents, advanced practice providers, and faculty physicians were surveyed about their perception of the night float system as it compares to the old call system.

Results: The volume of notes increased significantly with the implementation of the night float system, from 127 to 375 (p=0.03). Over the 6-month night float period, the median number of short communication notes per resident increased from 4.5 (4-6.5) to 9.5 (9-13), p=0.04, while full patient consult notes rose from 16 (8.75-19.5) to 53 (36.25-61.5), p=0.002. Survey results from residents showed a better perception of their wellness under night float (25% were positively affected, compared to 0% during the traditional call system). A perceived overall improvement in patient care was reported by 100% of IR faculty and APPs with night float.

Conclusion: Night float implementation enhanced IR resident productivity and wellness as evidenced by increased documented clinical encounters and positive feedback.