Work

Long hours, limited rest: a national snapshot of ObGyn resident work conditions in France and paths to reform

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: OBJECTIVES: The main aim was to describe the weekly working time of French ObGyn residents. As secondary objectives, we aimed to evaluate the respect of training time and day off for safety and finally, to describe proposed adjustments to respect maximal weekly working time. METHODS: This national descriptive survey was addressed among ObGyn residents in 2024. The primary outcome was the average weekly working time declared by all residents. For the secondary outcomes, we assessed the mean number of weekday and weekend on-call, the rate of applicability of day off after on-call, the rate of presence of training days and the description of modalities proposed regarding additional day off to respect working time. RESULTS: 413 responses were obtained with 92.8 % of universities represented. The mean weekly working time was 63 h with a daily time range of 10.5 h. In total, 98.1 % of residents worked >48 h by week. In 25 % of cases, residents assumed professional activity after on-call. 57.1 % of French universities offered adjustments to reduce weekly working time consisting of an additional day off for on-call during Friday, Saturday or Sunday. CONCLUSION: The weekly working time is insufficiently controlled in French ObGyn residents but there are very promising suggestions for improvement.

Source: Journal of Gynecology Obstetrics and Human Reproduction

DOI: 10.1016/j.jogoh.2025.103033