A quiet place: The impact of the word “quiet” on clinical workload

PURPOSE: This study aimed to determine the impact of uttering the word “quiet” on clinical workload during the overnight otolaryngology call shift and understand the factors contributing to resident busyness. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A multicenter, single‐blind, randomized‐controlled trial was conducted. A total of 80 overnight call shifts covered by a pool of 10 residents were randomized to the quiet or to the control group. At the start of shift, residents were asked to state aloud, “Today will be a quiet night” (quiet group) or “Today will be a good night” (control group). Clinical workload, as measured by number of consults, was the primary outcome. Secondary measures included number of sign‐out tasks, unplanned inpatient and operating room visits, number of phone calls and hours of sleep, and self‐perceived busyness. RESULTS: There was no difference in the number of total (P = 0.23), nonurgent (P = 0.18), and urgent (P = 0.18) consults. Tasks at signout, total phone calls, unplanned inpatient visits, and unplanned operating room visits did not differ between the control and quiet groups. While there were more unplanned operating room visits in the quiet group (29, 80.6%) compared to the control group (34, 94.4%), this was not found to be significant (P = 0.07). The majority of residents reported feeling “not busy” during control nights (18, 50.0%) compared to feeling “somewhat busy” during quiet nights (17, 47.2%; P = 0.42). CONCLUSION: Contrary to popular belief, there is no clear evidence that uttering the word “quiet” significantly increases clinical workload.