Journal of the American College of Surgeons
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Second victim syndrome (SVS) is described as when healthcare providers encounter significant moral distress after traumatic patient care events. Although broadly recognized in medicine, this remains underrecognized in surgery, and no systemic approaches exist to mitigate potential harms of SVS among surgeons. When SVS is left unaddressed, surgeons not only suffer personal psychological harm but their ability to care for future patients can also be compromised. The aim was to examine surgeons' perceptions and attitudes regarding mitigation of SVS. ⋯ Surgeons agreed that healthcare organizations have a moral imperative to assist surgeons in navigating the psychosocial impacts of SVS after adverse surgical outcomes. The success of mitigation strategies was viewed as ethically relevant to patients and surgeons and dependent on the culture, tenor, and tone of the process.
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Immigrants in the US face unique challenges in accessing healthcare. There have been several studies highlighting some of the barriers that this population faces; however, there is still a lack of robust research on this patient population in the context of surgical access and outcomes. ⋯ This makes it incredibly difficult to identify this population in the first place, resulting in a decreased ability to study this group retrospectively and, therefore, restricting the quantity and quality of research into these vulnerable patients. This article aims to provide a call to action for medical professionals to develop ways to accurately document immigration status in medical records while assuaging the concerns related to this documentation and its implications on patient care and confidentiality.
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The American College of Surgeons (ACS) Committee on Trauma has established a framework for trauma center quality improvement. Despite efforts, recent studies show persistent variation in patient outcomes across national trauma centers. We aimed to investigate whether risk-adjusted mortality varies at the hospital level and if high-performing centers demonstrate better adherence to ACS Verification, Review, and Consultation (VRC) program quality measures. ⋯ Significant variation in risk-adjusted mortality persists across trauma centers. Given the association between adherence to quality measures and high performance, multidisciplinary efforts to refine and implement guidelines are warranted.