Forty years of litigation involving residents and their training: I. General programmatic issues.

An analysis of reported state and federal adjudication from 1950 through 1989 was undertaken to identify issues and trends in litigation involving residents and their training. Of the 174 decisions cited, 38 (22%) involved disputes over general programmatic issues. The great majority of these addressed academic administration, especially issues arising from dismissals of residents. During more recent periods, residency programs have accommodated to judicial scrutiny of dismissals and have prevailed more often than claimants in litigation. Successful accommodation by residency programs has apparently not operated as a disincentive to further litigation, however.