Evaluating Emergency Medicine Faculty at End-of-Shift

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Emergency Medicine
• Healthcare Administration

Background:

• Traditional faculty evaluation in emergency departments (EDs) occurs at the end of rotations, while learner evaluations are typically end-of-shift.
• A medical school implemented a new process requiring trainees to complete end-of-shift evaluations for faculty in December 2007.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the feasibility of implementing end-of-shift evaluations for emergency medicine faculty.
• To determine the acceptance of this novel evaluation method among faculty and trainees.

Main Methods:

• A one-year observational study was conducted across two hospitals with a combined 120,000 annual ED visits.
• Trainees (residents and students) anonymously submitted seven-item shift evaluations.
• Surveys were administered to both trainees and faculty to gauge their perceptions of the new process.

Main Results:

• A high completion rate of 91% for end-of-shift evaluations was achieved (633 out of 699 assigned shifts).
• Faculty received a median of 31 ratings and 11 comments per faculty member.
• A majority of faculty (86%) and trainees (76%) reported comfort with end-of-shift evaluations, with no trainees citing it as a time burden.

Conclusions:

• End-of-shift faculty evaluations are a feasible addition to the medical education process in emergency departments.
• Both faculty and trainees demonstrated acceptance of the end-of-shift evaluation system.