An Analysis of the Involvement and Attitudes of Resident Physicians in Reporting Errors in Patient Care

Abstract

Resident physicians play a critical role in patient care. Residents undergo extensive supervised training in order to one day be able to practice medicine in an unsupervised setting, with the goal of providing the highest quality of care possible. One study reported that primary care provided by residents in a training program is of similar or higher quality than that provided by attending physicians.1 Besides providing high-quality care, it is important that residents play an active role in the reporting of errors that occur regarding patient care as well as in identifying events that may compromise patient safety and quality.2 In fact, increased reporting of patient errors has been shown to decrease liability-related costs for hospitals.3 Unfortunately, physicians, and residents in particular, have historically been poor reporters of errors in patient care.4 This is especially true when comparing physicians to other health professionals, such as nurses, in error reporting.5 Several studies have examined the involvement of residents in reporting errors in patient care. One recent study showed that a graduate medical education financial incentive program significantly increased the number of patient safety events reported by residents and fellows.6 This study, along with several others, supports the concept of using incentives to help improve the reporting of errors in patient care for physicians in training.7-10 Another study used Quality Improvement Knowledge Assessment Tool (QIKAT)