- To admit new patients.
- To assist in the evaluation and management of patients on the service
Admitting
You should admit at least one patient every time you are on call. This involves performing a complete history and physical examination, writing the admission note, writing admission orders, and (often) writing a write-up for the tutor. You should not wait for a "good case"; instead, you can get started with patients as they are admitted, and the choose one of them for your write-up.
At any given time, you will be responsible for 2-5 patients--depending on your experience, skill, and the fall of circumstance. Three to four is ideal. If you ever have less than 2 patients, you should admit a new patient , even if you are not on call.
Patient evaluation and management
If a patient on your team develops a problem while you are on call, you will often be the first to evaluate the patient. If the patient is severely ill, you will evaluate the patient together with the resident.
You may be asked to perform some scheduled clinical task, such as drawing blood or checking a test result, while you are on call.
Whenever you evaluate a patient, you should document the event in the medical record. When the patient's main caregivers return, you should report the event to them verbally.
