Journal of surgical education
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Characterize the concordance among faculty and resident perceptions of surgical case complexity, resident technical performance, and autonomy in a diverse sample of general surgery procedures using case-specific evaluations. ⋯ General surgery residents generally demonstrated high correlations with faculty perceptions of case complexity, technical performance, and operative autonomy. This generalized accord supports the use of the Milestone and Zwisch assessments in residency programs. However, discordance among perceptions of midlevel resident autonomy and chief resident operative performance suggests that these trainees may need more direct communication from the faculty.
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The surgical community commonly perceives a decline in surgical and patient care skills among residents who take dedicated time away from clinical activity to engage in research. We hypothesize that residents perceive a decline in their skills because of dedicated research time. ⋯ Most residents who dedicate time for research perceive a decline in their overall clinical aptitude and surgical skills. This can have a dramatic effect on the confidence of these residents in caring for patients and leading a care team once they re-enter clinical training. Residents who engaged in 2 or more years of research were significantly more likely to perceive these problems. Further research should determine how to keep residents who are interested in academics from losing ground clinically while they are pursuing research training.
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Fundamentals of laparoscopic surgery (FLS) was developed by the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons to teach the physiology, fundamental knowledge, and technical skills required for basic laparoscopic surgery. We hypothesize that residents are doing more laparoscopic surgery earlier in residency, and therefore would benefit from an earlier assessment of basic laparoscopic skills. Here, we examine FLS test results and ACGME case logs to determine whether it is practical to administer FLS earlier in residency. ⋯ Increased use of laparoscopic surgery has led to a corresponding increase in laparoscopic case volume among general surgery residents. We would advocate for FLS testing to serve as an early assessment of laparoscopic knowledge and skill and should be performed before a significant increase in complex laparoscopic surgery during training.
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To determine the validity, feasibility, and responsiveness of a new web-based platform for rapid milestone-based evaluations of orthopedic surgery residents. ⋯ Rapid tracking of trainee competency with milestone-based evaluations in a learner-centered mobile platform demonstrated validity, feasibility, and responsiveness. Next Accreditation System-mandated data may be efficiently collected and used for trainee and program self-study.