Clinical Review
The Nurse–Physician Liaison: How a New Position Can Reduce House Staff Workload
Fed Pract. 2011 July;28(7):29
Author and Disclosure Information
John Ishmael, RN; John Nord, MD; Mike Spratt, RN; Susan J. Quaal, PhD; and Gavin West, MD.
Mr. Ishmael is a nurse-physician liaison in the medicine service at the George E. Wahlen VA Medical Center in Salt Lake City, Utah (SLCVAMC). Dr. Nord is a staff physician at SLCVAMC, where Mr. Spratt is a nurse-physician liaison, and Dr. Quaal was an advanced practice cardiovascular clinical specialist in the Department of Cardiology at the time of this study. Dr. West is associate chief of medicine at SLCVAMC and assistant professor of clinical medicine at the University of Utah School of Medicine in Salt Lake City.
Time and money are limited commodities in any health care system. The American College of Graduate Education (ACGME) limits the number of hours that internal medicine residents can work in the hospital to a maximum average of 80 hours per week.1 Proposed ACGME changes, anticipated to take effect July 1, 2011, will further limit work hours, and academic VA medical centers throughout the country must adapt to these changes to maintain ACGME accreditation. Because work hour restrictions place increasing limits on the number of hours trainees (house staff) spend in the hospital, further limitations will present a significant hurdle in maintaining continuity of care and achieving efficient patient flow in the hospital setting.