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Key educational strengths of an academic surgical hospitalist program

Hospitalist Leadership Connection, April 21, 2009

In the era of the 80-hour resident workweek, the surgical hospitalist model strengthens the department of surgery’s commitment to surgical education and maximal patient safety by promoting continuity in student and resident education, providing appropriate supervision to maximize patient safety, and introducing a mentoring relationship for student professional development and feedback.

Teaching hospitals support residency programs and typically are affiliated with a medical school. In addition to clinical duties, the academic surgical hospitalist also must fulfill important educational and supervisory roles to achieve the mission of surgical education. Time must be allocated to complete these teaching responsibilities, which may include preparing lectures, facilitating teaching conferences, assisting in medical school curriculum workshops and oversight committees, conducting residency interviews, and ensuring compliance with 80-hour ACGME workweek regulations.

Key educational strengths of the surgical hospitalist model in academic setting include:

• A safer program model to deliver surgical care and teach simultaneously
• Increased exposure to the undifferentiated patient in the ED with direct practice for the observed history and physical exam of the abdomen
• More time for residents to educate medical students as their clinical efficiency is promoted
• The opportunity for junior residents to accelerate into the role as chief of a surgical service
• A platform for novel curricular innovations to improve faculty mentoring and patient continuity

This excerpt is adapted from The Surgical Hospitalist Program Management Guide: Tools and Strategies for Executives and Physicians by John Nelson, MD, FACP, and John Maa, MD, FACS, published by HCPro, Inc.

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