Examining the July Effect: a national survey of academic leaders in medicine.
The July Effect is the widely held belief that the quality of care delivered in academic medical centers decreases during the summer months due to the arrival of new trainee physicians. This survey found that most academic residency leaders attempt to mitigate errors in July, utilizing strategies such as handoff education, electronic health records training, and employing attending physicians with high teaching ratings to work in July. However, these results should be interpreted with caution in light of the low survey response rate (16%).