Observation medicine in emergency medicine residency programs.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate observation unit (OU) prevalence, emergency medicine (EM) resident exposure in observation medicine (OM), EM faculty/residency director (RD) OM training, and RD attitudes toward OM.


METHODS
Information was obtained from residency programs by telephone during a four-month period.


RESULTS
Survey respondents indicated that 36.1% have OUs and 44.9% plan to have an OU. Observation medicine resources include textbooks 32.0%, articles 45.9%, lectures 36.9%, fellowships 2.5%, and research 26.2%. Observation medicine patient care occurs: 1) during residency: 25.4% of RDs, 11.3% of entire faculty; 2) as an attending: 45.1% of RDs.


CONCLUSIONS
Nearly two-thirds of EM programs have or are planning an OU. Resources are lagging behind. This survey describes current OM education strategies to teach OM.
Mace
Sharon E
SE
Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Department of Emergency Medicine, Ohio State University, 44195, USA. maces@ccf.org
Shah
Jatin
J
D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate / Q000379:methods*; D004635:Emergency Medicine / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D019370:Observation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires