Adult Medicine Inpatient Service: Senior

INTERNAL MEDICINE RESIDENCY PROGRAM

Faculty: Batalautundu Lakshminarayanan, MD, Mehtab Mizan, MD, Anil Gopinath, MD

Sites: Provena Covenant Medical Center (PCMC) , Carle Foundation Hospital (CFH), Veterans Administration Illiana Health Care System (VAIHCS)

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DESCRIPTION

Block rotation under the supervision of site directors, Dr. Batalautundu Lakshminarayanan, MD, Provena Covenant Medical Center , Dr. Mehtab Mizan, Carle Foundation Hospital and Dr. Anil Gopinath , Veterans Administration Illiana Health Care System in the direct experience in progressive responsibility for patient treatment and competent care management. Additional adult inpatient training takes place longitudinally throughout all 3 years, specifically, block rotations in Critical Care, Cardiology, Pulmonary, and Neurology. Other Adult Medicine education occurs during weekly conferences, and Grand Rounds, Quality Review, and Journal Club.

I. GOALS

Demonstrate attitudes, skills and knowledge for diagnosis, treatment and competent care management of patients with common and uncommon medical problems, acting as the supervisor of a patient care team in the hospital setting. Demonstrate successful coordination of teaching, patient care activities, and management skills in the hospital setting.

II. OBJECTIVES

A. PATIENT CARE:

Objective 1: Demonstrate clinical skills of comprehensive medical interview, history and physical examination at the patient bedside, including functional assessment and mental status as needed.

Objective 2: Demonstrate clinical skills in the diagnosis and medical management of acute and chronic illness.

Objective 3: Generate a differential diagnosis and problem list in accepted format.

Objective 4: Perform and record procedures

a. Procedure Skills: The resident is expected to perform and become adept at the following procedural skills during his/her residency training:

  • Advanced Cardiac Life Support documented by American Heart Association
  • Anesthesia techniques, e.g. regional and local blocks
  • Central venous line placement
  • Defibrillation/cardioversion and emergency cardiac pacing
  • Diagnostic and therapeutic arthrocentesis
  • Diagnostic or therapeutic paracentesis
  • Diagnostic or therapeutic thoracentesis
  • Electrocardiogram interpretation
  • Incision and drainage techniques
  • Intubation, including nasogastric
  • Intravenous lines and arterial lines
  • Lumbar puncture
  • Management of wounds, lacerations and burns
  • Suturing, including plastic surgery repair of skin lacerations

B. MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE

Objective 1: Demonstrate knowledge of the natural history, pathophysiology, clinical presentation, diagnosis through differential diagnosis and management of clinical problems

Objective 2: Describe and evaluate a pharmacotherapeutic approach which includes definition of therapeutic objectives and options, selection of dose and parameters to be monitored, and measurement of therapeutic response and outcome.  

Objective 3: Assimilate knowledge of patient condition to recognize when consultation is indicated  

C. PRACTICE-BASED LEARNING AND IMPROVEMENT  

Objective 1: Demonstrate evidenced based practice through appraisal and assimilation of scientific information, e.g. scientific journals, related to patient care  

Objective 2: Demonstrate ability in medical decision making, which incorporates medical assessment and patient values and preferences.  

D. INTERPERSONAL AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS  

Objective 1: Create an atmosphere of positive regard for the patient and family to promote the best medical outcome through accessibility, affability and continuity.  

Objective 2: Incorporate psychosocial and ethical concerns of the patient and family in the development of the care management plan.  

Objective 3: Dictate timely, comprehensive patient care notes, including admission and discharge summaries, and write thorough, succinct daily progress notes in accepted format.  

E. PROFESSIONALISM  

Objective 1: Demonstrate compassionate use of medical skills for patients. This includes high-quality care and technology and, in the event of terminal illness, an awareness of the limits of medical intervention and the obligation to provide humane care.

Objective 2: Recognize the legal requirements of advanced directives and describe the process of assessing a patient's advance directives, including the patient's perspective.  

Objective 3: Teach interns and/or students to develop a comprehensive problem list, differential diagnosis, and management plan.   

Objective 4: Objectively evaluate and provide ongoing feedback to medical student, interns, and residents.  

Objective 5: Model appropriate professional attitudes and behaviors of time management and punctuality, reliability, peer support, community teaching, and ethical behavior.  

Objective 6: Model effective leadership qualities for residents, staff, and nursing, i.e., conflict resolution, and problem identification and resolution.

F. SYSTEM-BASED PRACTICE  

Objective 1: Recognize financial issues of heath care, with emphasis on understanding acute and chronic care, and medication coverage and the role of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and other third party payers.  

Objective 2: Develop a teaching and supervisory skills to include work rounds, formal brief patient presentations, procedures instruction and supervision, imaging rounds, chart review, topic ­oriented discussion, and literature review.  

Objective 3: Actively participate in the multidisciplinary approach to caring for patients, including appropriate recognition of other health professional and paraprofessionals' roles and demonstrate competence in team interactions, i.e. medical students, residents, pharmacist, physician's assistant, advanced practice nurse, nurses, occupational and physical therapist, social worker.  

III. METHODS

Team

The Care Team includes a senior resident, interns, student clerks, admitting physicians, and teaching attendings. The senior resident is the leader of the team, providing ongoing supervision of the interns' clinical skills and positive support of the interns' responsibility as primary physicians. The resident is responsible for quality care of assigned patients and education of team members. S/he must be readily available and coordinate care with the admitting physician. The primary attending has final authority and responsibility for patient care.

Patient Care

The senior resident must complete a timely evaluation of each patient assigned to his/her team when patient responsibility is assumed. Through team rounds, chart rounds, and individual rounds the resident must assure that his/her understanding of each patient case is complete A senior progress note must be written daily.

In strict accordance with ACGME guidelines, when supervising one first–year resident, the supervising resident must not be responsible for the ongoing care of more than 16 patients. When supervising more than one first-year resident, the supervising resident must not be responsible for the ongoing care of more than 24 patients. Second- or third-year internal medicine residents and other appropriate supervisory physicians, e.g. subspecialty residents or attendings, with documented experiences appropriate to the acuity, complexity, and severity of patient illness must be available at all time on-site to supervise first-year residents. Residents from other specialties must not supervise internal medicine residents on any internal medicine inpatient rotation. Residents must write all orders for patients under their care, with appropriate supervision by the attending physician. In those unusual circumstances when an attending physician or subspecialty resident write an order on a resident’s patient, the attending or subspecialty resident must communicate his/her action to the resident in a timely manner.

Admissions

An admission or an on-service note should document the history, physical examination, and review of clinical data. The admission evaluation must conclude with a thorough discussion of differential diagnosis and management plan for each identified problem. Residents must write all orders for patients under their care with appropriate supervision by the attending physician. The admitting resident is contacted for all service admissions. The admission format is outlined in Bates, B et al., A Guide to Physical Examination and History Taking, 6th edition, J.B. Lippincott Co., (current edition.)   Patients in the emergency department are promptly evaluated by the senior resident who writes a complete history and physical note and staffs the patient with the attending.  The patient's case is then staffed with the intern and/or student. The senior resident has the responsibility for assigning the intern and/or student to each case in strict accordance with ACGME regulations for work hours, e.g. interns do not admit the day following night call, are not assigned more than five new patients per admitting day, and may not be assigned more then 8 new patients in a 48-hour period. The resident is required to report any concerns regarding non-adherence to ACGME requirements for admissions and hours-worked to the site Chief Resident.  

Orders and Progress Notes  

Residents write orders for all patients under their care. Orders and progress notes must be dated, timed, legible, and written as early in the day as possible. Residents are encouraged to print his/her name to facilitate nursing and other care. Rubber name stamps are required for all non-emergency orders and progress notes. Standing orders are to be avoided, e.g. daily CBC. Orders are reviewed daily for appropriateness e.g., frequency. Drug names, not trade names, are required. Abbreviations are discouraged. Complex diagnostic and radiology procedures and examinations, and invasive procedures should be discussed with and approved by the teaching attending prior to being ordered. Orders must be written stating the resident physician coverage for weekend or leave days. Progress notes are problem focused and written in SOAP format.  

Discharge Summary/Chart Completion  

All radiology reports, electrocardiogram, pathology reports, and other diagnostic tests are reviewed and initialed by the intern. All chart notes must be complete at discharge for the resident to dictate the discharge summary. Residents with delinquent charts will be subject to disciplinary action.  

Service Hours  

The senior is expected to be available in-house 0700 to 1600 weekdays, and 0700 until work is done on weekends and holidays. Schedules should allow for one day/per week, on average, free of hospital duties for all team members in strict accordance with ACGME work hours.  A senior resident who carries the code beeper is responsible to assure its functioning and must be immediately responsive in house as the code team leader. 

On-Call.

There must be a resident on-call schedule and detailed check-out and check-in procedures so residents learn to work in teams and effectively transmit necessary clinical information to ensure safe and proper care of patients. The call schedule is developed and posted by the chief resident as final. Any call changes must occur with notification and approval of the Program Director. The senior resident serves call in house. Pagers are on 24 hours per day when on call.

Intern admissions exceeding five patients are the responsibility of the on-call senior until an intern is assigned the following day. Interns should admit no more than five patients during any one call period.

Teaching 

The senior resident develops a schedule with his/her team to facilitate timely patient care and learning. This schedule includes team rounds, imaging rounds, chart-lab rounds, and topic discussions.

The senior is a primary teacher of interns, and shares responsibility with the interns for the teaching of student clerks. The teaching must include an initial, careful review of student goals, objectives and reading assignments, and review of all student admissions including relevant pathophysiology, differential diagnosis, plans, orders and progress notes. 

The senior resident is responsible for the educational process of the team.  S/he must assure student objectives are met as outlined in the student clerkship manual. The senior discusses new cases with interns and students at admission, clarifies important historical points, demonstrates physical findings, reviews important accessory clinical data, and incorporates case-oriented teaching at the end of the daily routine.  The senior resident assists the intern and/or student in developing a comprehensive problem list, differential diagnosis, and management plan.  The senior should provide useful literature to supplement basic texts.

Seniors develop and coordinate a teaching, supervisory program which includes team work rounds, formal brief patient presentations, procedures instruction and supervision, imaging rounds, chart review, topic ­oriented discussion, and literature review. This includes the fair delegation of tasks to improve team efficiency and learning, and ongoing evaluation of students and residents.  

Feedback

Senior residents must provide frequent performance feedback to those supervised. Senior residents evaluate interns and students on an ongoing basis through frequent positive reinforcement and immediate and specific feedback as needed.

IV. EVALUATION  

ACGME Competencies   According to Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), training and evaluation must include the following competencies: Patient Care, Medical Knowledge, Practice – Based Learning and Improvement, Interpersonal and Communication Skills, Professionalism, and System-Based Practice.  

Patient Care will be evaluated by global assessment of the attending physician, and additional information from nursing staff and 1 Mini-CEX. Procedures performed will be documented electronically.  

Medical Knowledge will be evaluated by global assessment of the attending physician, additional information from nursing staff, 1 Mini-CEX, and attending-reviewed chart audit.  

Practice-Based Learning and Improvement will be evaluated by attending-reviewed chart audit.  

Interpersonal and Communication Skills will be evaluated by global assessment of attending physician and additional information from nursing staff, patients and families and 1 Mini-CEX.  

Professionalism will be evaluated by global assessment of attending physician and additional information from nursing staff, patients and families; and attending-reviewed chart audit.  

System-Based Practice will be evaluated by global assessment of attending physician, 1 Mini-CEX and attending-reviewed chart audit.  

The evaluation method is primarily accomplished electronically. Residents' performance in Adult Medicine is evaluated by the attending physician. Evaluations are reviewed with the residents for formal feedback. Face to face interaction between the attending physician and the resident is the required method. At the midway point of the rotation, the resident is encouraged to approach the attending to assess and discuss performance. In addition, ongoing feedback is provided related to residents' patient care responsibilities and activities.  

Residents will document the Adult Medicine rotation in portfolios, e.g. procedures performed, attending-reviewed chart audit, and Mini-CEX. This tool will provide individual learning, reflection and assessment. Additionally, residents will evaluate the Adult Medicine rotation.   Residents provide input on the Adult Medicine core lecture series, which is used in scheduling future topics and speakers. Periodically, residents are surveyed to evaluate the Adult Medicine curriculum and teaching faculty. As part of the electronic evaluation each resident is queried regarding free days to assure that a averaged over the rotation, the resident had at least 1 day in 7 free of patient care duties, i.e.4 days during a 4 week rotation.

  V. REFERENCES  

Cecil's Textbook of Medicine . (current edition)  

Harrison 's Principles of Internal Medicine (current edition)  

Washington University School of Medicine's Manual of Medical Therapeutics. Little Brown and Co. (current edition).

Revised 10.06.05, 02.28.06, 07.01.06, 09.23.08