Journal of graduate medical education
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Graduating residents transition their continuity clinic patients to junior colleagues every year, creating a vulnerable transition period for about 1 million patients nationally. ⋯ A standardized template did not improve handoff quantity or satisfaction compared with a free-text handoff. Practical handoff programs can be instituted into diverse residencies within a short time frame, with most residents taking part in creating the handoff formats.
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Physicians in training experience fatigue from sleep loss, high workload, and working at an adverse phase of the circadian rhythm, which collectively degrades task performance and the ability to learn and remember. To minimize fatigue and sustain performance, learning, and memory, humans generally need 7 to 8 hours of sleep in every 24-hour period. ⋯ Off-duty sleep supplemented with naps while on duty appears to be an effective strategy for sustaining vigilance, learning, and memory when working night float.
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Compliance with the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education duty hour standards may necessitate more frequent transitions of patient responsibility. ⋯ Use of a multispecialty resident leadership group to address content, education, and evaluation of handoffs was feasible and acceptable to most programs at a large, university-based institution.
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Scholarly activity during residency is vital to resident learning and ultimately to patient care. Incorporating that activity into training is, however, a challenge for medical educators. Most research on medical student and resident attitudes toward scholarly activity to date has been quantitative and has focused on level of interest, desire to perform scholarship, and perceived importance of scholarship. ⋯ Uncertainty about scholarly activity expectations can add to learner anxiety and make performing scholarly activity during residency seem like an insurmountable task. Programs should consider implementing a variety of strategies to foster scholarly activity during residency, including clarifying and codifying expectations and facilitating mentoring relationships with faculty.