Patient background characteristics for each study group
| DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTIC | NO RESIDENT IN THE ED, N (%) (N = 709) | RESIDENT PRESENT IN THE ED, N (%) (N = 911) | P VALUE* |
|---|---|---|---|
| CTAS level† | |||
| • 1 | 4 (0.6) | 1 (0.1) | .10 |
| • 2 | 54 (7.6) | 66 (7.2) | .78 |
| • 3 | 277 (39.1) | 319 (35.0) | .09 |
| • 4 | 368 (51.9) | 518 (56.9) | .05 |
| • 5 | 6 (0.8) | 7 (0.8) | .86 |
| Age group‡ | |||
| • Pediatric | 166 (23.4) | 190 (20.9) | .22 |
| • Adult | 394 (55.6) | 481 (52.8) | .27 |
| • Geriatric | 149 (21.0) | 240 (26.3) | .01 |
| Sex | |||
| • Male | 360 (50.8) | 462 (50.7) | .98 |
| • Female | 349 (49.2) | 449 (49.3) | .98 |
| Time of day or type of shift§ | |||
| • Day | 21 (3.0) | 538 (59.1) | < .001 |
| • Evening | 355 (50.1) | 207 (22.7) | < .001 |
| • Night | 333 (47.0) | 166 (18.2) | < .001 |
CTAS—Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale, ED—emergency department, SMGH—Strathroy Middlesex General Hospital.
↵* P values calculated using the Pearson χ2 method.
↵† Scale ranges from highest acuity (level 1) to lowest acuity (level 5).
↵‡ Age characteristics were broadly grouped to represent pediatric (0–17 y), adult (18–59 y), and geriatric (≥ 60 y) patient populations.
↵§ Time of day or type of shift during which patient was seen. Three specific physician shifts exist in the ED at SMGH: the day shift from 7 am to 3 pm, the evening shift from 2 pm to 10 pm, and the night shift from 9 pm to 7 am.