WHAT'S KNOWN ON THIS SUBJECT: Increasing numbers of hospitals are instituting 24/7 in-hospital pediatric intensivist coverage. Data regarding patient outcomes are mixed and the impact on housestaff education remains unknown.
WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS:This study quantifies the perceived impact of in-hospital attending coverage on pediatric resident and critical care fellow education and also investigates the growing concern that increasing supervision may contribute to housestaff being less well prepared for independent clinical practice. abstract BACKGROUND: In recent years, the focus on patient safety and housestaff supervision has led to a steady increase in institutions providing 24/7 in-hospital (also known as in-house, henceforth referred to as IH) coverage by pediatric intensivists. Effects of this increased attending physician presence on education of pediatric housestaff have not been studied. We hypothesized that IH coverage would decrease perceived autonomy of housestaff and negatively affect their preparedness to be independent attending physicians on completion of training.
METHODS:A secure, anonymous, Web-based survey was sent to pediatric intensivists in the United States and Canada, and pediatric critical care fellows and pediatric residents at academic centers across the United States. Questions focused on perceptions of IH coverage and housestaff educational experience.
RESULTS:We report 1323 responses from 147 institutions (center response rate 74%). Although 96% of respondents stated that the PICU provides "a good educational experience," only 50% of pediatric intensivists and 67% of housestaff feel that housestaff are prepared for independent practice after training in an IH model. Compared with those training in home-call models, respondents currently working in IH models have more favorable perceptions of the effects of IH coverage on housestaff autonomy (P , .0001), supervision (P , .0001), and preparation for independent practice (P , .0001).CONCLUSIONS: Pediatric intensivists and housestaff express concern regarding the preparation of housestaff training in a 24/7 IH attending model. An important priority for institutions using or considering a 24/7 IH attending coverage model is the balance between adequate housestaff supervision and autonomy. Dr Rehder conceptualized and designed the study, supervised data collection, completed data analysis, and drafted the initial manuscript; Dr Cheifetz conceptualized and designed the study and critically reviewed the manuscript; Dr Willson assisted with study design and critically reviewed the manuscript; Dr Turner assisted with conceptualization and study design, participated in data analysis, and critically reviewed and revised the manuscript; and all authors approved the final manuscript as submitted.www.pediatrics.org/cgi/doi/10.1542/peds. 2013-1990 doi:10.1542/peds.2013-1990 Accepted for publication Sep 19, 2013 In academic medical centers, increasing emphasis is being placed on housestaff supervision and attending physician presence. [1][...