‘Early riser’ radiology resident helps reduce overnight misses
An “early riser resident” role designed to provide additional support to radiology residents during the early morning hours could cut back on interpretation errors common during the fatigue-prone timeframe.
That’s according to a new study published in Academic Radiology, detailing the benefits of overlapping resident coverage that offers a fresh set of eyes to review studies from the overnight caseload early in the morning. Overnight residents still provide preliminary interpretations, but the “early riser residents” offer additional support in the morning hours when fatigue begins to set in. Attending radiologists still review the cases for discrepancies the following morning. The move was made in response to rising caseloads as an attempt to maintain both patient safety and resident well-being.
Clinically significant discrepancies identified during attending review are designated as “Flag M” misses. To determine the utility of early risers, experts analyzed Flag M rates among R2-R4 residents before and after the role was introduced.
Across the two study periods, the Flag M rate fell from 1.28% before implementation to 0.92% afterward, a statistically significant decrease. There were 614 clinically significant misses among 48,107 studies during the pre-intervention period, compared with 435 among 47,428 studies after the early riser role was implemented.
Resident feedback was largely positive as well. Among 32 survey respondents, most agreed or strongly agreed that working alongside an early riser allowed them to devote more attention to complex cases and helped reduce fatigue. Residents who served in the role reported minimal effects on their overall case volume and said the position improved handoffs and transitions between overnight and daytime shifts.
For radiology training programs, the approach offers a potential strategy for addressing fatigue-related risks associated with overnight interpretation while preserving residents’ exposure to independent overnight work.
“At our institution, the [early riser resident] role has helped to reduce the rate of impactful misses by radiology residents working overnight with indirect supervision,” Selin Ocal, MD, from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, and colleagues noted. “These findings are encouraging for the ongoing implementation of this initiative, which may serve as a model for other residency programs.”
Read more here.
In addition to her background in journalism, Hannah also has patient-facing experience in clinical settings, having spent more than 12 years working as a registered rad tech. She began covering the medical imaging industry for Innovate Healthcare in 2021.