Journal of the American College of Surgeons
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In the US, disparities in surgical care impede the delivery of uniformly high-quality care to all patients. There is a lack of disparity-sensitive measures related to surgical care. The American College of Surgeons Metrics for Equitable Access and Care in Surgery group, through research and expert consensus, aimed to identify disparity-sensitive measures in surgical care. ⋯ There are profound disparities in surgical care within the US healthcare system. A multidisciplinary Delphi panel identified 125 potential disparity-sensitive surgical measures that could be used to track health disparities, evaluate the impact of focused interventions, and reduce healthcare inequity.
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Burnout among surgeons is increasingly recognized as a crisis. However, little is known about changes in burnout prevalence over time. We evaluated temporal trends in burnout among surgeons and surgical trainees of all specialties in the US and Canada. ⋯ Contrary to popular perceptions, we found no evidence of rising surgeon burnout in published literature. Rather, emotional exhaustion and depersonalization may be decreasing. Nonetheless, burnout levels remain unacceptably high, indicating a need for meaningful interventions across training levels and specialties. Future research should be deliberately designed to support longitudinal integration through prospective meta-regression to facilitate monitoring of trends in surgeon burnout.
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Abusive head trauma (AHT) can result in retinal complications that require operative intervention. There is no review evaluating the outcomes of vitreoretinal operations in aggregate or on the timing of vitreoretinal intervention. This systematic review aims to fill this knowledge gap. ⋯ Visual acuity (VA) and anatomic outcomes were compared between patients who received operations within 4 weeks of diagnosis and those who had delayed intervention. This review found that vitreoretinal surgery after AHT has excellent anatomical success rates, but there is a trend toward improved VA outcomes when performed within 4 weeks of diagnosis. This highlights the importance of urgent referral to a pediatric retina surgeon for non-clearing vitreous hemorrhage, retinal detachment, and retinal tears after AHT.
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Previous reports suggest that structured training in minimally invasive pancreatic surgery (MIPS) can ensure a safe implementation into standard practice. Although some training programs have been constructed, worldwide consensus on fundamental items of these training programs is lacking. This study aimed to determine items for a structured MIPS training program using the Delphi consensus methodology. ⋯ Consensus among worldwide experts in MIPS was reached on fundamental items for the framework of training and criteria for participating surgeons and centers. These items act as a guideline and intend to improve training, proctoring, and safe worldwide dissemination of MIPS.
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Operative coaching offers a unique opportunity to strengthen surgery residents' skill sets and practice readiness. However, institutional organizational capacity may influence the ability to successfully implement and sustain a coaching program. This review concentrates on the implementation requirements as they relate to institutional organizational capacity to help evaluate and determine if adopting such a coaching model is feasible. ⋯ Video-assisted coaching faces the most barriers to implementation followed by video-based coaching; in-person coaching encounters the least barriers. Six questions are generated helping residency education leaders assess their readiness for an operative coaching program. Evaluation of the implementation requirements of a desired coaching program using the 5 organizational capacity elements is recommended to ensure the residency's ability to achieve a successful and sustainable program.