Anna K Donovan1, Carla Spagnoletti2, Scott Rothenberger3, Jennifer Corbelli2. 1. Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. Electronic address: donovanak2@upmc.edu. 2. Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. 3. Institute for Clinical Research Education, Center for Research on Healthcare Data Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Patient satisfaction ratings are a priority for academic medical centers. Sitting during patient encounters has been recommended as a "best practice."1 A prior study showed that hospitalists had higher-rated communication skills when sitting compared to standing at the bedside during rounds.2 It is unclear whether the same is true of resident-led team rounds. METHODS: We performed a cluster-randomized crossover trial assigning 18 internal medicine residents to sit or stand at the bedside during rounds. RESULTS: A total of 347 patients were surveyed to assess physician communication skills. Standing residents received higher ratings than sitting residents on 2 of 5 survey items and rounding duration did not differ. These results differ from prior work that suggests sitting is superior to standing2-6. CONCLUSION: We suspect that one rounding member sitting, while all others stand, is not enough to impact patients' perceptions. These results suggest that initiatives to optimize patient satisfaction on resident-staffed units should be focused elsewhere. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Patients do not have better impressions of physician communication skills when one team member is sitting and the rest are standing.
RCT Entities:
OBJECTIVES:Patient satisfaction ratings are a priority for academic medical centers. Sitting during patient encounters has been recommended as a "best practice."1 A prior study showed that hospitalists had higher-rated communication skills when sitting compared to standing at the bedside during rounds.2 It is unclear whether the same is true of resident-led team rounds. METHODS: We performed a cluster-randomized crossover trial assigning 18 internal medicine residents to sit or stand at the bedside during rounds. RESULTS: A total of 347 patients were surveyed to assess physician communication skills. Standing residents received higher ratings than sitting residents on 2 of 5 survey items and rounding duration did not differ. These results differ from prior work that suggests sitting is superior to standing2-6. CONCLUSION: We suspect that one rounding member sitting, while all others stand, is not enough to impact patients' perceptions. These results suggest that initiatives to optimize patient satisfaction on resident-staffed units should be focused elsewhere. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Patients do not have better impressions of physician communication skills when one team member is sitting and the rest are standing.
Authors: Blair P Golden; Sean Tackett; Kimiyoshi Kobayashi; Terry Nelson; Alison Agrawal; Nicole Pritchett; Kaley Tilton; Geron Mills; Ting-Jia Lorigiano; Meron Hirpa; Jessica Lin; Sarah Disney; Matt Lautzenheiser; Shanshan Huang; Stephen A Berry Journal: J Gen Intern Med Date: 2022-01-10 Impact factor: 6.473