Timely completion of paperwork: are some residents consistently late responders?

One element of competence in professionalism entails the timely completion of paperwork. Early identification of residents who are consistently late in completing their assignments might be the first step in helping them change this habit. This study sought to determine if program coordinators' ratings of residents' response habits to completing assignments were associated with existing measures of resident response times tracked by the institution. Program coordinators rated residents as early, mid, or late responders based on their experience with them. We compared coordinators' ratings with the response time of these same residents in returning orientation materials to the institution, completing a patient safety survey and duty hour logs, and providing their required countersignature on telephone and verbal orders. A total of 196 residents enrolled at this institution were eligible for this comparison in the 2012-2013 academic year. Program coordinators rated 23% (40 of 177) of the residents as late responders. These ratings were significantly associated with the response time of residents in returning orientation materials and the completed patient safety survey. Residents identified as late responders were 2.45 times (confidence interval, 1.09 ± 5.64) more likely to have delinquent medical records. This exploratory study suggests that residents who are late responders can be identified as early as orientation and that they likely maintain this response habit in completing assignments throughout residency. To address this professionalism issue, programs should track and counsel residents on their timeliness in completing paperwork.