As an architect now working as a resident physician, Diana Anderson, MD, maintain two notebooks in her white coat pocket: one for medical facts, a common finding amongst trainees, and the other for design notes and sketches.
"The observations collected are shaped by my unique perspective: for example, seeing the design implications associated with changing medical practices," anderson wrote in a blog on the Healthcare Design magazine website.
According to a 2012 Johns Hopkins and University of Maryland study, medical interns spend a minority of their time directly caring for patients — 12 percent in direct patient care, 64 percent in indirect patient care, 15 percent in educational activities, and 9 percent in miscellaneous activities, according to the blog.
Computer use occupies 40 percent of interns' time. Compared with studies prior to 2003, interns spend less time in direct patient care and more time talking with other providers and documenting.
"It surprised me that so much time is spent on order-entry and charting at the computer, in rooms often without art, natural light, or acoustic control. Physicians are frequently separated from the nursing and ancillary staff, requiring multiple telephone calls for communication rather than discussing patient care face-to-face," Anderson wrote.
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