Appendix 1.

Semi-structured interview guide

Background information Thank person for participating, go over consent form and have them verbally agree to participate, explain process, how confidentiality and anonymity will be protected, etc.

Warm-up and establishing rapport I t would be nice if you could let me know a little bit about yourself. How long have you been working at the [Centre name]? Can you tell me a little bit about your role here?

Experiences prior to working with hospitalist How long were you working here when the hospitalist role was introduced? What was your original reaction to this role? Please describe the key problems you encountered in your work at that time. What were your expectations (if any) of how the hospitalist role would affect your work? Did you have any concerns? If so what were they?

Experiences working with hospitalist – staff impact Can you describe a time when you worked directly with the hospitalist? (Probes: what stood out for you? How would you characterize this experience?) Can you describe the top three things that have changed in the work that you perform on a daily basis since the hospitalist role was introduced? What is the most important benefit to you of working with a hospitalist? What is the least important benefit to you?

Experiences working with hospitalist – patient impact In what way do you believe the hospitalist has impacted on patient care? (Probes: why do you think that? Do others share this opinion?) Can you provide an example of the impact of the hospitalist on patient care? What is the most important benefit to patients of having a hospitalist? What is the least important benefit?

Recommendations Would you recommend working with a hospitalist to your peers? Why or why not? How could we improve this program?

Cool-down/wrap-up questions Is there anything else I haven’t asked you about that you’d like to add? The responses you have provided may stimulate some additional questions or need for further clarification. If so, may we contact you in the future? Explain rest of process (eg, that they will be invited to a meeting to provide feedback on preliminary interpretation of data)