Since the initiation of resident duty hour restrictions, significant controversy has arisen regarding its impact on surgical resident training. We reviewed a singular facet of the otolaryngology residency experience, nasal bone fracture management, to identify if treatment standardization would improve care and efficiency. For 1 year, otolaryngology consults for isolated nasal fractures were analyzed to assess consultation trends, rate of intervention, and resident work hour utilization. Following a review of the literature, an evidence-based algorithm for management of nasal fractures was developed. Analysis revealed a potential improvement in intervention rate from 20% to 100% with utilization of the algorithm, with an 84% decrease in overall emergency room and inpatient consultations. Sixty-three hours of otherwise lost resident time would be gained. In the setting of Accreditation for Graduate Medical Education duty hour restrictions, implementation of protocol-driven management may result in a decrease in work hours and serve as a model for more efficient otolaryngology care.
Keywords: duty hour restrictions; graduate medical education; military medicine; nasal bone fracture; otolaryngology; residency.