Hospital privileges for family physicians: documentation of family practice residents' experiences in training.

This report describes a study of the content and uses of the University of Washington Affiliated Residency Network documentation system for future hospital privileges. The selected procedures and problems considered important to document for future hospital privileges were validated by means of a graduate survey conducted in 1985. Fifty percent of the 43 graduates responding used their personal documentation when applying for hospital privileges. Intermediate-sized hospitals of 50 to 199 beds were significantly more likely to require documentation than either small (fewer than 50 beds) or large (more than 200 beds) hospitals. However, 84 percent of the hospitals where graduates are located either require documentation or would find it helpful for privilege application. The three-year cumulative experiences of the 1986 cohort of graduating residents are also presented. Thirty-six of the residents (71 percent) participated actively in the voluntary network documentation system. None of the items selected as important to document for future hospital privileges were recorded by 100 percent of the residents. Obstetric procedures and problems were the items most commonly documented.