What's in a Name? Role Clarity Goes Well Beyond a Simple Title

David A Turner; Kyle J Rehder; Alisa Nagler; Julia Aucoin; Pam Edwards; Catherine Kuhn

doi:10.1177/2374373518803615

What's in a Name? Role Clarity Goes Well Beyond a Simple Title

J Patient Exp. 2019 Dec;6(4):325-328. doi: 10.1177/2374373518803615. Epub 2018 Oct 10.

Authors

David A Turner^{1

2}, Kyle J Rehder², Alisa Nagler³, Julia Aucoin⁴, Pam Edwards⁵, Catherine Kuhn^{1

6}

Affiliations

¹ Graduate Medical Education, Duke University Hospital and Health System, Durham, NC, USA.
² Department of Pediatrics, Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Fellowship, Duke University Hospital, Durham, NC, USA.
³ American College of Surgeons, Chicago, IL, USA.
⁴ University of North Carolina REX Healthcare, NC, USA.
⁵ Duke University Health System, Durham, NC, USA.
⁶ Department of Anesthesiology, Duke University Hospital and Health System, Durham, NC, USA.

Abstract

Background: Role clarity is important for patient care but challenging in graduate medical education (GME).

Methods: Badge buddies were integrated for all GME trainees at a single institution, and surveys were conducted prior to and 5 months following implementation.

Results: There were 932 pre- and 498 postimplementation respondents. Following implementation, both trainees and nurses reported improved awareness of GME training level, but there were no changes in patient/family perceptions.

Conclusions: Badge buddies improved caregiver awareness of GME training level but did not impact patient/family perception. Patients appear to be focused primarily on relationships with caregivers and communication skills rather than a provider's specific role.

Keywords: clinician–patient relationship; communication; patient expectations; patient satisfaction.