Date on Master's Thesis/Doctoral Dissertation
12-2010
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Degree Name
M.S.
Department
Industrial Engineering
Committee Chair
Depuy, Gail W.
Author's Keywords
Simulation; Emergency department; Patient wait time; Resident physician teaching methods
Subject
Patient satisfaction; Hospitals--Emergency services; Residents (Medicine)--Education; Hospital care--Simulation methods
Abstract
The Kosair Children's Hospital, located in Louisville, Kentucky, is the only children's hospital in the state. Recently, the hospital's emergency department has developed concerns with patient satisfaction. Patients have experienced excessive amounts of time to get through the emergency department resulting in low satisfaction. Hence, this research assesses the patient's time in the emergency department through the use of a computer simulation. Specifically, a study on the teaching methods for the resident physicians was examined to determine if there were different approaches that could be implemented to improve a patient's time in the emergency department. Findings showed that the teaching method of having an attending physician with the resident physician whenever they visit a patient was the best teaching method. This teaching method only showed significant improvement if the number of attending physicians was adjusted from two to three starting at 3:00 PM until 11:00 PM. These changes resulted in a 28% reduction of total time in the system for patients. These results provide a starting point for Kosair to make improvements to their emergency department; however, there are areas that warrant further research.
Recommended Citation
Hoover, Scott R., "Simulation analysis of resident and attending physician teaching methods at Kosair Children's Hospital." (2010). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 631.
https://doi.org/10.18297/etd/631
