Clinical Rotation: In-Patient Care

In-patient Medicine Service:
St. Vincent's is an acute care community hospital.  Physicians practicing in the community admit patients with the full spectrum of medical illnesses, and admit cases with educational value to the teaching service.  Patients who have no assigned physician are also admitted to the teaching services.

Residents are responsible for the diagnostic and therapeutic management of patients on their services.  They work closely with the attending staff, but they are responsible for choosing therapy, consulting specialists, and ensuring that their patients get appropriate, cost-effective care.

St. Vincent's is an efficient hospital with excellent ancillary services.  Diagnostic and therapeutic procedures are performed quickly and appropriately.  Clinical pharmacists, radiologists, and pathologists are available to discuss patient management, and to help interpret test results.  Interns and residents are not responsible for routine procedures, like drawing blood, or starting IVs.  Thus, they have more time to concentrate on managing their patients, and learning about disease processes.

On the inpatient services, one resident supervises one intern, and the entire team takes call together every fourth night.  Each team has a teaching attending, who conducts teaching rounds three days a week.  Each team cares for about five to ten patients.  There is sufficient patient volume for house-officers to see a wide range of pathophysiology and to learn time-management skills, but not so great a volume as to preclude time to read about and discuss each case in detail.