The Attending Physician has both an ethical and legal responsibility for the overall care of the individual patient in the supervision of the housestaff involved in the care of that patient. Each Division within the Department of Surgery has a team of housestaff involved in the care of all patients on the service with different levels of housestaff subordinate to those involved in a normal chain of command to the more senior housestaff, who are ultimately responsible for the junior resident activities. All major clinical decisions are discussed with the Faculty, all missions and plans are reviewed with the faculty, and all cases in the operating room are supervised by the physical presence of the Attending Surgeon. Although they require less direction than junior residents, even the most senior housestaff are supervised. Judgment of delegation of responsibility is made by the Attending Surgeon based on their assessment of each housestaff’s skills, knowledge, and ability. The Teaching Staff is always immediately available for consultation and support to all housestaff. All office visits, operative cases, and admissions are personally supervised by an identifiable Faculty member.
All Surgery Training Programs follow the guidelines outlined in the UPHS Housestaff Supervision Policy. (GME Policy #1-1 intranet only).