Leading educationally effective family-centered bedside rounds

Abstract

Background: Family-centered bedside rounds (family-centered rounds) enable learning and clinical care to occur simultaneously and offer benefits to patients, health care providers, and multiple levels of learners.

Objective: We used a qualitative approach to understand the dimensions of successful (ie, educationally positive) family-centered rounds from the perspective of attending physicians and residents.

Methods: We studied rounds in a tertiary academic hospital affiliated with the University of Calgary. Data were collected from 7 focus groups of pediatrics residents and attendings and were analyzed using grounded theory.

Results: Attending pediatricians and residents described rounds along a spectrum from successful and highly educational to unsuccessful and of low educational value. Perceptions of residents and attendings were influenced by how well the environment, educational priorities, and competing priorities were managed. Effectiveness of the manager was the core variable for successful rounds led by persons who could develop predictable rounds and minimize learner vulnerability.

Conclusions: Success of family-centered rounds in teaching settings depended on making the education and patient care aims of rounds explicit to residents and attending faculty. The role of the manager in leading rounds also needs to be made explicit.

FIGURE

Spectrum of Educationally Effective Family-Centered Bedside Rounds