Which primary care resident is more likely to initiate the discussion of designating a healthcare proxy?
Eloi-Stiven ML; Tobias MM; Finkel M; Lopez-Luciano L; Kondamudi V; DeLaRosa M Brooklyn Hospital Center, Brooklyn, New York, USA. Despite widespread support for the concept of advance care planning, few Americans have a healthcare proxy. It is not known if certain physician characteristics make it less likely that the discussion of a healthcare proxy will be initiated, particularly in the case of physicians in training. The objective of this descriptive, cross-sectional study was to determine if resident characteristics (specialty, race, age, gender, and religion) affect his or her decision to initiate discussions with patients regarding designation of a healthcare proxy. Participants consisted of primary care residents employed at The Brooklyn Hospital Center, Brooklyn, New York, from the departments of Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Family Practice. An anonymous 14-item questionnaire was distributed to all primary care residents (N = 151) at the hospital
