Anesthesia and analgesia
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Nov 2019
Customizable Curriculum to Enhance Resident Communication Skills.
Communication remains challenging to teach and evaluate. We designed an online patient survey to assess anesthesia residents' communication skills from August 2014 to July 2015. ⋯ Based on the Hodges-Lehmann 2-sample aligned rank-sum test, overall ratings, reported as the median (interquartile range) of residents' average overall ratings, differed significantly between the preintervention (3.86 [3.76-3.94]) and postintervention (3.91 [3.84-3.95]) periods (P = .025). Future studies should assess the intervention's effectiveness and generalizability.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Nov 2019
Association Between Participation and Performance in MOCA Minute and Actions Against the Medical Licenses of Anesthesiologists.
In January 2016, as part of the Maintenance of Certification in Anesthesiology (MOCA) program, the American Board of Anesthesiology launched MOCA Minute, a web-based longitudinal assessment, to supplant the former cognitive examination. We investigated the association between participation and performance in MOCA Minute and disciplinary actions against medical licenses of anesthesiologists. ⋯ Both timely participation and meeting performance standard in MOCA Minute are associated with a lower likelihood of being disciplined by a state medical board.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Nov 2019
The American Board of Anesthesiology's Standardized Oral Examination for Initial Board Certification.
The American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA) has been administering an oral examination as part of its initial certification process since 1939. Among the 24 member boards of the American Board of Medical Specialties, 13 other boards also require passing an oral examination for physicians to become certified in their specialties. However, the methods used to develop, administer, and score these examinations have not been published. ⋯ The many-facet Rasch model is the analytic method used to convert examiner ratings into scaled scores for candidates and takes into account how difficult grader examiners are and the difficulty of the examination tasks. Validity evidence of the oral examination includes that it measures aspects of clinical performance not accounted for by written certifying examinations, and that passing the oral examination is associated with a decreased risk of subsequent license actions against the anesthesiologist. Explaining the details of the Standardized Oral Examination provides transparency about this component of initial certification in anesthesiology.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Nov 2019
Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists Clinical Practice Improvement Advisory for Management of Perioperative Bleeding and Hemostasis in Cardiac Surgery Patients.
Bleeding after cardiac surgery is a common and serious complication leading to transfusion of multiple blood products and resulting in increased morbidity and mortality. Despite the publication of numerous guidelines and consensus statements for patient blood management in cardiac surgery, research has revealed that adherence to these guidelines is poor, and as a result, a significant variability in patient transfusion practices among practitioners still remains. In addition, although utilization of point-of-care (POC) coagulation monitors and the use of novel therapeutic strategies for perioperative hemostasis, such as the use of coagulation factor concentrates, have increased significantly over the last decade, they are still not widely available in every institution. ⋯ Given these limitations, and in response to new regulatory and legislature requirements, the Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists (SCA) has formed the Blood Conservation in Cardiac Surgery Working Group to organize, summarize, and disseminate the available best-practice knowledge in patient blood management in cardiac surgery. The current publication includes the summary statements and algorithms designed by the working group, after collection and review of the existing guidelines, consensus statements, and recommendations for patient blood management practices in cardiac surgery patients. The overall goal is creating a dynamic resource of easily accessible educational material that will help to increase and improve compliance with the existing evidence-based best practices of patient blood management by cardiac surgery care teams.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Nov 2019
Special Report From the Society for the Advancement of Blood Management: The Choosing Wisely Campaign.
Over 7 years ago, the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation (ABIM) created the national Choosing Wisely campaign with the purpose of encouraging active dialogue between health care providers and patients, focusing on appropriateness, quality care, and resource management. This special communication from the Society for the Advancement of Blood Management (SABM) serves to highlight the society's recent participation in the Choosing Wisely campaign, encouraging sensible dialogue between clinicians and our patients with the intent to promote patient-centered, evidence-based care. The article addresses the rationale and supportive data for the 5 SABM Choosing Wisely recommendations.