On-Call Resident Preliminary Reads: Should the Process Continue?

Abstract

I read with great interest the most recent “Residents’ Column,” in which Dr Bansal [ 1 Bansal A. Twenty-four-hour attending physician coverage and its impact on resident training. J Am Coll Radiol. 2005; 2: 642-644 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (15) Google Scholar ] 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. Twenty-Four-Hour Attending Physician Coverage and Its Impact on Resident TrainingJournal of the American College of RadiologyVol. 2Issue 7Preview…is committed to serving the community. We are dedicated to enhancing patient care, teaching and research, and to taking a leadership role as an integrated health care system. Full-Text PDF Author’s ReplyJournal of the American College of RadiologyVol. 2Issue 12PreviewAs 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]. 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. Full-Text PDF