Dr. Sydney Tan, general surgery resident, recently had her research, “Work Hours, Stress, and Burnout Among Resident Physicians,” published in JAMA Network Open. Dr. Tan and her research partners at the University of Wisconsin–Madison examined whether work hours are associated with stress, burnout, and self-perceived competency among residents in high-burnout specialties.
This cross-sectional study looked at survey responses from 540 residents in high-burnout specialties (general surgery and surgical subspecialties, obstetrics-gynecology, family, internal, and emergency medicine). Their main finding was that burnout is not associated with work hours, suggesting that further restricting work hours may not reduce burnout and could negatively affect residents’ perceived competency.
“Our work highlights the need for more comprehensive strategies to support well-being beyond changes to work hours alone,” Dr. Tan said.
Dr. Tan is currently a PGY-3 resident in the General Surgery Residency Program. In 2025, she presented this research at the Academic Surgical Congress in Las Vegas.
JAMA Network Open is an international, peer-reviewed, open access, general medical journal that publishes research on clinical care, innovation in health care, health policy, and global health across all health disciplines and countries for clinicians, investigators, and policy makers.