The 50/50 Block Schedule: Impact on Residents' and Preceptors' Perceptions, Patient Outcomes, and Continuity of Care

Ownership of Patient Care: Medical Students' Expectations, Experiences, and Evolutions Across the Core Clerkship Curriculum

Phenomenon: Ownership of patient care is a key element of professional growth and professional identity formation, but its development among medical students is incompletely understood. Specifically, how attitudes surrounding ownership of patient care develop, what experiences are most influential in shaping them, and how educators can best support this growth are not well known. Therefore, we studied the longitudinal progression of ownership definitions and experiences in medical students across their core clerkship curriculum. Approach: We conducted a series of four longitudinal focus groups with the same cohort of medical students across their core clerkship curriculum. Using workplace learning theory as a sensitizing concept, we conducted semi-structured interviews to explore how definitions, experiences, and influencers of ownership developed and evolved. Results were analyzed inductively using thematic analysis. Findings: Fifteen students participated in four focus groups spanning their core clerkship curriculum. We constructed four themes from responses: (1) students' definitions of ownership of patient care evolved to include more central roles for themselves and more defined limitations; (2) student conceptions of patient care ownership became more relational and reciprocal over time as they ascribed a more active role to patients; (3) student assessment fostered ownership as an external motivator when it explicitly addressed ownership, but detracted from ownership if it removed students from patient care; and (4) structural and logistical factors impacted students' ability to display patient care ownership. Insights: Student conceptions of ownership evolved over their core clerkship curriculum to include more patient care responsibility and more meaningful relational connections with patients, including recognizing patients' agency in this relationship. This progression was contingent on interactions with real patients and students being afforded opportunities to play a meaningful role in their care. Rotation structures and assessment processes are key influencers of care ownership that merit further study, as well as the voice of patients themselves in these relationships.

Exploring Models of Exposure to Primary Care Careers in Training: a Narrative Review

Multiple models of clinical exposure to primary care exist within undergraduate medical education (UME) and graduate medical education (GME). In this narrative review, we explore the evidence behind these different models of exposure, their alignment with positive promoters of primary care careers, and the pros and cons of each. Without positive exposure to primary care during training, sustaining the future primary care work force becomes increasingly challenging. Here, we explore multiple models of clinical exposure in UME, including longitudinal integrated clerkships, primary care tracks, and primary care clerkships. Within GME, we will review the impact of primary care tracks, Area Health Education Centers, block scheduling models, and continuity clinic scheduling models. The goal of this narrative review is to allow educators to think broadly and intentionally about the array of models to develop positive primary care experiences and perceptions in training, ultimately sustaining the primary care workforce.

Continuity and Health Outcomes in Resident Clinics: A Scoping Review of the Literature

Continuity of care is an essential component of primary care, resulting in improved satisfaction, management of chronic conditions, and adherence to screening recommendations. The impact of continuity of care in teaching practices remains unclear. We performed a scoping review of the literature to understand the impact of continuity on patients and trainees in teaching practices. A systematic search was performed through PubMed to identify articles published prior to January 2020 addressing continuity of care and health outcomes in resident primary care clinic settings. A total of 543 abstracts were evaluated by paired independent reviewers. In total, 24 articles met the inclusion criteria and were abstracted by four authors. These articles included a total of 6,973 residents (median = 96, range = 9-5,000) and over 1,000,000 patients (median = 428, range = 70-1,000,000). Most publications demonstrated that higher continuity was associated with better diabetic care (71%, n = five of seven), receipt of preventive care per guidelines (60%, n = three of five), and lower costs or administrative burden of care (100%, n = three of three). A smaller proportion of publications reported a positive association between continuity and hypertension control (28%, n = two of seven). The majority of publications evaluating patient/resident satisfaction demonstrated that better continuity was associated with higher patient (67%, n = four of six) and resident (67%, n = six of nine) satisfaction. A review of the existing literature revealed that higher continuity of care in resident primary care clinics was associated with better patient health outcomes and patient/resident satisfaction. Interventions to improve continuity in training settings are needed.

Defragmenting the Day: The Effect of Full-Day Continuity Clinics on Continuity of Care and Perceptions of Clinic

PROBLEM

Traditional half-day continuity clinics within primary care residency programs require residents to split time between their assigned clinical rotation and continuity clinic, which can have detrimental effects on resident experiences and patient care within continuity clinics. Most previous efforts to separate inpatient and outpatient obligations have employed block scheduling models, which entail significant rearrangements to clinical rotations, team structures, and didactic education and have yielded mixed effects on continuity of care. A full-day continuity clinic schedule within a traditional, non-block rotation framework holds potential to de-conflict resident schedules without the logistical rearrangements required to adopt block scheduling models, but no literature has described the effect of such full-day continuity clinics on continuity of care or resident experiences within continuity clinic.

INTERVENTION

A pediatric residency program implemented full-day continuity clinics within a traditional rotation framework. We examined the change in continuity for physician (PHY) measure in the six months prior to versus the six months following the switch, as well as changes in how often residents saw clinic patients in follow-up and personally followed up clinic laboratory and radiology results, which we term episodic follow-up. Resident and attending perceptions of full-day continuity clinics were measured using a survey administered 5-7 months after the switch.

CONTEXT

The switch to full-day continuity clinics occurred in January 2018 within the Wright State University/Wright-Patterson Medical Center Pediatric Residency Program. The program has 46 residents who are assigned to one of two continuity clinic sites, each of which implemented the full-day continuity clinics simultaneously.

OUTCOME

The PHY for residents at one clinic decreased slightly from 18.0% to 13.6% (p<.001) with full-day continuity clinics but was unchanged at another clinic [60.6% vs 59.5%, p=.86]. Measures of episodic follow-up were unchanged. Residents (32/46 = 77% responding) and attendings (6/8 = 75% responding) indicated full-day continuity clinics improved residents' balance of inpatient and outpatient obligations, preparation for clinic, continuity relationships with patients, and clinic satisfaction.

LESSONS LEARNED

Full-day continuity clinics within a traditional rotation framework had mixed effects on continuity of care but improved residents' experiences within clinic. This model offers a viable alternative to block scheduling models for primary care residency programs wishing to defragment resident schedules.

Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/10401334.2021.1879652.

Whose Patient Is This? A Scoping Review of Patient Ownership

PURPOSE

The scope of physicians' responsibility toward patients is becoming increasingly complicated to delimit as interdisciplinary care delivery and degrees of subspecialization increase. Patients can easily be lost across multiple transitions involved in care. Preparing learners to engage in safe and responsible patient care requires that we be clear about parameters of patient ownership. This scoping review (1) explores and synthesizes definitions of patient ownership and (2) describes the factors that influence patient ownership.

METHOD

Searching PubMed, Embase, and PsycINFO, the authors sought out publications of any format (i.e., original research papers, review articles, commentaries, editorials, and author discussions) that (1) addressed patient ownership directly or a closely related concept that explicitly affected patient ownership, (2) included medical care providers (attending/faculty physicians, medical residents, and/or medical students), and (3) were published in English. The authors analyzed findings to construct common themes and categorize findings.

RESULTS

Of 411 papers screened, 82 met our inclusion criteria. Twenty-three papers defined patient ownership in highly variable ways. Common themes across definitions included responsibility for patient care, personally carrying out patient care tasks, knowledge of patients' medical information, independent decision making, and putting patients' needs above one's own. Factors influencing patient ownership were (1) logistical concerns, (2) personal attributes, and (3) socially or organizationally constructed expectations.

CONCLUSIONS

A new definition of patient ownership is proposed encompassing findings from the review, while also respecting the shift from individual to a team-based patient care, and without removing the centrality of an individual provider's commitment to patients.