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Abstract

As the diagnostic capabilities of radiology continue to expand, clinicians’ reliance on imaging studies will only increase. The evaluation of patients with suspected appendicitis is an excellent example of an area in which imaging has become indispensable [ 1 Rhea J.T. Halpern E.F. Ptak T. Lawrason J.N. Sacknoff R. Novelline R.A. The status of appendiceal CT in an urban medical center 5 years after its introduction experience with 753 patients. Am J Roentgenol. 2005; 184: 1802-1808 Crossref PubMed Scopus (87) Google Scholar ]. Given that radiology has now become a 24-hour specialty, we are faced with making an important decision about who should be rendering interpretations. Does it make logical sense to have a resident make what in essence amounts to a final decision at night but not during the day? After all, you can’t very well have a surgeon place a normal appendix back into someone’s abdomen after an attending physician comes in and renders an official reading at 8 am. On-Call Resident Preliminary Reads: Should the Process Continue?Journal of the American College of RadiologyVol. 2Issue 12PreviewI read with great interest the most recent “Residents’ Column,” in which Dr Bansal [1] described the impact of 24-hour attending physician coverage on the resident training at his institution. The majority of the residents at his institution seemed to be in favor of this new system, because it led to a decrease in on-call hours as well as a decrease in “fear and uncertainty” while on call. Full-Text PDF