Abstract: TH-PO0012
Effectiveness of a Nephrohospitalist Program at Two Large Tertiary Care Teaching Hospitals: Fellows Perspective Survey
Session Information
- Educational Research Within and Across Disciplines
November 06, 2025 | Location: Exhibit Hall, Convention Center
Abstract Time: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Category: Educational Research
- 1000 Educational Research
Authors
- Pinki, Khairun, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, Hempstead, New York, United States
- Fishbane, Steven, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, Hempstead, New York, United States
- Shah, Hitesh H., Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, Hempstead, New York, United States
- Jhaveri, Kenar D., Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, Hempstead, New York, United States
- Ross, Daniel W., Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, Hempstead, New York, United States
Background
In 2021-2023, we experienced a substantial increase in demand for inpatient nephrology consultation and related services. To address this, we created a non-teaching, inpatient nephrology attending-only (nephrohospitalist) service at both of our large teaching hospitals in 2024. Each nephrohospitalist assumed responsibility for ~15-20 patients from the existing teaching services, on weekdays. We assessed the impact of our newly created nephrohospitalist service on our fellows-in-training.
Methods
An anonymous survey was created on-line and distributed to all senior fellows who had worked at both hospitals before and after the implementation of our nephrohospitalist program.
Results
The survey had a 100% completion rate. Prior to the program implementation, 83% of the fellows had reported a diminished ability to learn, 67% a negative impact on patient care quality and/or safety, and 67% reported difficulties communicating with referring and consulting physicians. Following program implementation, all surveyed fellows reported improvements. Specifically, 83% felt that their ability to learn and read improved, high-quality and safe patient care was enhanced and communication with providers was easier. Regarding service size reduction, 50% of respondents saw a decrease of over 30%, with another 50% reporting a decrease between 20-30%, and another 50% experiencing a decrease between 30-40%. The additional time afforded by the program was utilized in various ways: 83% experienced improved work-life balance, 50% engaged in more scholarly activities, and 67% fellows felt spent more discussing cases.
Conclusion
Overall, the responses suggest that by reducing our inpatient teaching service sizes by implementation of nephrohospitalist services positively impacted learning ability, quality of care, communication, work-life balance, personal wellness, and scholarly involvement for our fellows-in-training. Our experience highlights some potential benefits of a dedicated nephrohospitalist service in large teaching hospitals.