Nocturnist

A Nocturnist is a specialist hospital-based doctor who only works overnight. Nocturnists are usually trained in internal medicine, and have experience in hospital medicine. The main role of a nocturnist is to admit patients from an emergency room, and to cross-cover previously admitted inpatients, through the night. A typical nocturnist works from 7pm to 7am.

The main advantages to a hospital from employing a nocturnist are:
 * 1) Improved patient safety
 * 2) Improved quality of care to inpatients
 * 3) No "on-call" for physicans at home
 * 4) Immediate admission and history & physical of patients waiting to be admitted.
 * 5) Immediate decompression of an emergency room
 * 6) Decreased length of stay
 * 7) Increased patient satisfaction

Nocturnists were first described in literature by Dr. Aman D. Sabharwal MD in The Hospitalist in 2005.