ACGME work hours regulations: a perspective from neurology program directors.

Background Resident duty hour regulations developed by the ACGME went into effect in July 2003 and were preceded by much debate among medical educators. The regulations have forced change in the structure of many residency programs. All programs, regardless of specialty, have been forced to re-evaluate the structure of patient care systems in the academic setting where the resident role in service has been pivotal. Along with creating new service models, which hopefully will benefit both residents and patients, program directors are also faced with a new layer of administrative burden in providing documentation of compliance with the regulations in order to avoid citation by the ACGME and bad publicity. We write as new (Dr. Kissela) and more seasoned (Dr. Peltier) neurology program directors and consider the challenges of the duty hour regulations.