Analysis of Resident and Attending Physician End-of-Rotation Changeover Days and Association With Patient Length of Stay

IMPORTANCE: End-of-rotation resident physician changeover is a key part of postgraduate training but could lead to discontinuity in patient care. OBJECTIVE: To test whether patients exposed to end-of-rotation resident changeover have longer hospital stays and whether this association is mitigated by separating resident and attending changeover days. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This retrospective cohort analysis included adult patients admitted to general internal medicine. The changeover day was the same day (first Monday of month) for both resident and attending physicians until June 30, 2013 (preseparation period), and then intentionally staggered by 1 or more days after July 1, 2013 (postseparation period). This was a multicenter analysis at 4 teaching hospitals in Ontario, Canada, from July 1, 2010, to June 30, 2019. Data analysis was conducted from July 2022 to January 2023. EXPOSURES: Patients were classified as changeover patients if the first Monday was a resident changeover day and as control patients if the first Monday was not a resident changeover day. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary outcome was length of hospital stay. Secondary outcomes were transfer to critical care, in-hospital death, and rate of discharge per 100 patients on the index day. RESULTS: Of 95 282 patients. 22 773 (24%; mean [SD] age, 67.8 [18.8] years; 11 156 [49%] female patients) were exposed to resident changeover, and 72 509 (76%; mean [SD] age, 67.8 [18.7] years; 35 293 [49%] female patients) were not exposed to resident changeover. Exposure to resident changeover day was associated with a slightly longer hospital stay compared with control days (0.20 [95% CI, 0.09-0.30] days; P < .001) and decreased relative risk of patient discharge on the index day (relative risk, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.86-1.00; P = .047). These associations were similar in the preseparation and postseparation periods. Resident changeover was not associated with an increased risk of transfer to critical care or in-hospital death. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this study, a small positive association between exposure to resident physician changeover and length of hospital stay as well as reduced rate of discharge was found. These findings suggest that separating changeover days for resident and attending physicians may not significantly change these associations.