26. Spelling Out Who's Who in the Hospital from South Carolina

You're in a hospital. There’s a whirlwind of people in scrubs and white coats. It can be confusing trying to figure out who's who. Is that person a nurse, a respiratory therapist, a resident physician, a senior doctor? Who's actually in charge? It sounds simple but can be quite complicated – knowing who is actually treating you in a hospital. It is a real problem because while those in the medical field understand the hierarchy, for patients these roles are often totally opaque. This is not just an identity crisis. Helen Haskell tells us why this is a serious patient safety concern and what we can do about it.References:Turner DA, Rehder KJ, Nagler A, Aucoin J, Edwards P, Kuhn C. What’s in a name? Role clarity goes well beyond a simple title. J Patient Exp. 2019;6(4):325-328. doi:10.1177/2374373518803615. Wray A, Feldman M, Toohey S, et al. Patient perception of providers: do patients understand who their doctor is? J Patient Exp. 2020;7(5):788-795. doi:10.1177/2374373519892780. Solomon HV, Kim BS, Rajagopalan AK, Funk MC. “Doctor” badge promotes accurate role identification and reduces gender-based aggressions in female resident physicians. Acad Psychiatry. 2022;46(5):611-615. doi:10.1007/s40596-022-01641-0.Olson EM, Dines VA, Ryan SM, et al. Physician identification badges: a multispecialty quality improvement study to address professional misidentification and bias. Mayo Clin Proc. 2022;97(4):658-667. doi:10.1016/j.mayocp.2022.01.007.Tsai J. Who is my doctor? Some hospital patients never know. Scientific American. Published online December 4, 2020. Foote MB, Jain N, Rome BN, DeFilippis EM, Powe CE, Yialamas MA.Association of perceived role misidentification with use of role identity badges among resident physicians. JAMA Netw Open. 2022;5(7):e2224236. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.24236.