Perceived impact of physician-in-triage on resident education

Abstract

Emergency department (ED) overcrowding is a problem that has deleterious consequences for both patients and providers. Complications from such a burden on the ED include prolonged wait times, patient dissatisfaction, decreased productivity, and increased patient mortality [1,2]. The physician-in-triage (PIT) model has become increasingly popular in ED settings with results suggestive of a positive impact on ED throughput [3-6]. Our ED implemented a novel PIT, termed the Rapid Assessment Team (RAT), exclusively for patients arriving via emergency medical services (EMS).