Interaction Between House Staff and Attending Physicians

Excerpt

Approved residency training programs differ widely in the emphasis placed on bedside teaching and the extent to which senior attending physicians supervise the care of patients. The increasing use of laboratory and technologic procedures may benefit patients, but often these procedures are unnecessary, not cost effective, and at times harmful. Invasive procedures may be ordered without adequate consideration of the patient's history and findings on physical examination. Important clinical features frequently are not reviewed at the bedside with the senior attending physician; bedside teaching is becoming a lost art in many hospitals. Major decisions on diagnostic investigation and treatment may