Do patients understand their physician's level of training? a survey of emergency department patients

To assess patients' understanding of levels of training and responsibilities for residents, medical students, and attendings in the emergency department as well as their degree of comfort in being cared for by a physician-in-training. In 1999, a questionnaire was administered to a convenience sample of 430 adult patients and family members in a university emergency department. The questionnaire asked for demographic information and contained 17 questions addressing the different levels of medical training and seven opinion-based questions on patients' willingness to have physicians-in-training care for them. Respondents answered 65% of the knowledge-based questions about physicians' training correctly. Only 43% understood that residents are always supervised when caring for patients, and 30% thought attendings required supervision by a resident. Respondents with education greater than a high school diploma answered more questions correctly (71% versus 59%; p