title: An argument for the attendance of clinicians at autopsy.
abstract: We recorded the attendance of clinicians at the autopsies they had requested, and following personal notification that the autopsy was in progress. Of 679 residents paged , 37% attended and 63% did not. Of 786 internists paged , 36% attended and 64% did not. Of 58 surgeons, ten were not in the hospital, 35 attended, and 13 did not. With due allowance for reasons that legitimately could interfere with attendance at a labor-intensive and educational procedure requested of a colleague by the physician, these results reflect adversely on motivation. This attitude, more than opposition by the lay public, could explain the languishing autopsy rates.
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001344:Autopsy; D013502:General Surgery; D006801:Humans; D007388:Internal Medicine; D007396:Internship and Residency; D010820:Physicians