J Korean Soc Emerg Med.
2014 Jun;25(3):231-237.
Task and Time Analysis of Intern Physicians in the Emergency Department: Multicenter Cross-sectional Study
- Affiliations
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- 1Department of Emergency Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Korea. emstar@yuhs.ac
- 2Department of Emergency Medicine, Korea University Guro Hospital, Korea.
- 3Department of Emergency Medicine, Konkuk University School of Medicine, Korea.
- 4Department of Emergency Medicine, Inje University Busan Paik Hospital, Korea.
- 5Department of Emergency Medicine, Inje University Haeundae Paik hospital, Korea.
- 6Department of Emergency Medicine, Catholic University of Daegu, Korea.
- 7Department of Emergency Medicine, College of Medicine, Chungbuk National University, Korea.
- 8Department of Emergency Medicine, Hallym University Dongtan Sacred Heart Hospital, Korea.
- 9Department of Emergency Medicine, School of Medicine, Chonnam National University, Korea.
- 10Department of Emergency Medicine, Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital, Korea.
- 11Department of Emergency Medicine, College of Medicine, Chungnam National University, Korea.
- 12Department of Emergency Medicine, College of Medicine, Eulji University, Korea.
- 13Department of Emergency Medicine, Bucheon Hospital of Soonchuhyang University, Korea.
- 14Department of Emergency Medicine, Korea University Anam Hospital, Korea.
Abstract
- PURPOSE
This study was conducted in order to describe how intern physicians in the emergency department (ED) spent their time, and the frequency of tasks performed by them.
METHODS
This was an observational, time-motion study for 15 intern physicians in 15 emergency centers. Observers in each hospital shadowed interns for a 60-minute period, two times, both day and night shift. They recorded time spent on various activities, type and number of activities. The proportion of activity that can be replaced by other staff members was calculated.
RESULTS
Average number of duty hours of interns was 80.9 hours (63~87.8) per week. A total of 662 activities were observed during 30 hours. Interns' activities were classified as direct patient care 28.2%, personal time 24.2%, documentation 17.0%, procedures 16.7%, communication 8.1%, transportation 2.6%, indirect patient care 2.0%, learning activity 0.8%, and administrative work 0.4%. The proportion of procedural task showed negative correlation with the number of emergency medical technicians (r=-0.710, p=0.003). The proportion of activity that can be replaced by staff members other than doctors was 24.3% (0~47%) of time, except personal or learning activity.
CONCLUSION
Results of this study showed that only 24.3% of interns' activity in the emergency department could be replaced by staff members other than doctors. Because the proportion of activities that could be replaced was variable among hospitals, each hospital should perform task analysis of interns' activity in order to forecast alternative manpower.
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