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Home Call and Sleep in Orthopaedic Surgeons: A Prospective, Longitudinal Study of the Effect of Home Call on Sleep in Orthopaedic Attending Surgeons and Residents
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Home Call and Sleep in Orthopaedic Surgeons: A Prospective, Longitudinal Study of the Effect of Home Call on Sleep in Orthopaedic Attending Surgeons and Residents

Michelle M. Lawson, Karalynn Lancaster, Colin Lipps, Gerard Slobogean, Jacqueline M. Brady, Nathan O’Hara and Zachary M. Working
Journal of bone and joint surgery. American volume, Vol.107(20), pp.2235-2242
10/15/2025
DOI: 10.2106/JBJS.24.01411
PMID: 40834105

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Abstract

Background: The effect of home call on the sleep of orthopaedic residents and attending surgeons remains unquantified, despite known negative impacts of poor sleep on cognition, fine motor skills, and decision-making. We prospectively measured the impact of home call on orthopaedic surgery residents’ and attending surgeons’ sleep patterns (total sleep, slow-wave sleep [SWS], and rapid eye movement [REM] sleep), as well as on heart rate variability (HRV). We hypothesized that orthopaedic home call would negatively impact all phases of sleep and suppress post-call HRV. Methods: Sixteen orthopaedic attending surgeons and 14 orthopaedic surgery residents taking home call at multiple Level-I trauma centers in a single program wore WHOOP 3.0 Straps. The WHOOP Strap objectively measures and quantifies total sleep, SWS, and REM sleep. Over a 13-month period, home call nights were prospectively recorded and matched with physiological data to compare on-call, post-call night 1 (PCN 1), and PCN 2 metrics. Fixed-effects regression models were used for statistical analysis. Results: Over 13 months, we observed 4,574 recorded nights of residents’ sleep and 3,573 recorded nights of attending surgeons’ sleep. The mean baseline (non-call night) sleep parameters were highly varied among individuals. Overall, the mean sleep time was significantly shorter (p < 0.001) for attending surgeons (6.0 hours) than for residents (6.7 hours). When on home call, residents’ total sleep decreased by 20% from baseline (p < 0.001), REM sleep decreased by 12% (p < 0.001), and SWS decreased by 12% (p < 0.001). For attending surgeons, total sleep on call decreased by 10% from baseline (p < 0.001), REM sleep decreased by 7% (p < 0.001), and SWS decreased by 4% (p < 0.01). Conclusions: Orthopaedic surgery residents and attending surgeons exhibited low baseline sleep, and taking home call reduced this further. This suggests that there is a previously unmeasured toll of home call on orthopaedic surgeons, upon which further research is required to ensure excellent patient care, maximize educational environments, and develop strategies for resilience. Level of Evidence: Prognostic Level II. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

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