Substantial Variation Exists in Clinical Exposure to Chief Complaints Among Residents Within an Emergency Medicine Training Program

Introduction: While many aspects of emergency medicine (EM) residency training are standardized among residents within a single residency program, there is no standard for the distribution of chief complaints (CC) that residents should see over the course of residency. This could result in substanti...

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Main Authors: Corlin M. Jewell, Amy T. Hummel, Dann J. Hekman, Benjamin H. Schnapp
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: eScholarship Publishing, University of California 2024-11-01
Series:Western Journal of Emergency Medicine
Online Access:https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2406763q
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author Corlin M. Jewell
Amy T. Hummel
Dann J. Hekman
Benjamin H. Schnapp
author_facet Corlin M. Jewell
Amy T. Hummel
Dann J. Hekman
Benjamin H. Schnapp
author_sort Corlin M. Jewell
collection DOAJ
description Introduction: While many aspects of emergency medicine (EM) residency training are standardized among residents within a single residency program, there is no standard for the distribution of chief complaints (CC) that residents should see over the course of residency. This could result in substantial variability in each resident’s clinical exposure. Our objective in this study was to explore EM residents’ clinical exposure to CCs to determine whether substantial variation exists. If such variation exists, this could suggest the need for curricular reform to address gaps in resident clinical exposure during training. Methods: This was a retrospective observational study of EM residents who graduated in the years 2016–2021 at a single, university-affiliated emergency department (ED) in the midwestern United States. All patient encounters where a CC was logged were included and categorized into 1 of 20 clinical domains based on the 2016 American Board of Emergency Medicine Model of Clinical Practice. We calculated descriptive statistics for the top 10 most encountered domains for comparison among residents. Results: We included a total of 228,916 patient encounters from 69 residents in the analysis. Residents were involved in an average of 3,323 distinct patient encounters during the study period. The overall interquartile range for patient encounters was 523. The three CC domains with the broadest interquartile variation were abdominal and gastrointestinal disorders (116), musculoskeletal disorders (nontraumatic) (93), and traumatic disorders (86). Conclusion: Within a single, three-year academic EM program, substantial variation existed among residents with regard to the variety of patient CCs seen during their residency training.
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spelling doaj-art-9a302c86cbe848cabf62091cbb915cd82025-02-07T16:29:04ZengeScholarship Publishing, University of CaliforniaWestern Journal of Emergency Medicine1936-900X1936-90182024-11-01261475210.5811/westjem.2028120281Substantial Variation Exists in Clinical Exposure to Chief Complaints Among Residents Within an Emergency Medicine Training ProgramCorlin M. Jewell0Amy T. Hummel1Dann J. Hekman2Benjamin H. Schnapp3University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, BerbeeWalsh Department of Emergency Medicine, Madison, WisconsinUniversity of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, BerbeeWalsh Department of Emergency Medicine, Madison, WisconsinUniversity of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, BerbeeWalsh Department of Emergency Medicine, Madison, WisconsinUniversity of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, BerbeeWalsh Department of Emergency Medicine, Madison, WisconsinIntroduction: While many aspects of emergency medicine (EM) residency training are standardized among residents within a single residency program, there is no standard for the distribution of chief complaints (CC) that residents should see over the course of residency. This could result in substantial variability in each resident’s clinical exposure. Our objective in this study was to explore EM residents’ clinical exposure to CCs to determine whether substantial variation exists. If such variation exists, this could suggest the need for curricular reform to address gaps in resident clinical exposure during training. Methods: This was a retrospective observational study of EM residents who graduated in the years 2016–2021 at a single, university-affiliated emergency department (ED) in the midwestern United States. All patient encounters where a CC was logged were included and categorized into 1 of 20 clinical domains based on the 2016 American Board of Emergency Medicine Model of Clinical Practice. We calculated descriptive statistics for the top 10 most encountered domains for comparison among residents. Results: We included a total of 228,916 patient encounters from 69 residents in the analysis. Residents were involved in an average of 3,323 distinct patient encounters during the study period. The overall interquartile range for patient encounters was 523. The three CC domains with the broadest interquartile variation were abdominal and gastrointestinal disorders (116), musculoskeletal disorders (nontraumatic) (93), and traumatic disorders (86). Conclusion: Within a single, three-year academic EM program, substantial variation existed among residents with regard to the variety of patient CCs seen during their residency training.https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2406763q
spellingShingle Corlin M. Jewell
Amy T. Hummel
Dann J. Hekman
Benjamin H. Schnapp
Substantial Variation Exists in Clinical Exposure to Chief Complaints Among Residents Within an Emergency Medicine Training Program
Western Journal of Emergency Medicine
title Substantial Variation Exists in Clinical Exposure to Chief Complaints Among Residents Within an Emergency Medicine Training Program
title_full Substantial Variation Exists in Clinical Exposure to Chief Complaints Among Residents Within an Emergency Medicine Training Program
title_fullStr Substantial Variation Exists in Clinical Exposure to Chief Complaints Among Residents Within an Emergency Medicine Training Program
title_full_unstemmed Substantial Variation Exists in Clinical Exposure to Chief Complaints Among Residents Within an Emergency Medicine Training Program
title_short Substantial Variation Exists in Clinical Exposure to Chief Complaints Among Residents Within an Emergency Medicine Training Program
title_sort substantial variation exists in clinical exposure to chief complaints among residents within an emergency medicine training program
url https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2406763q
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