Journal of surgical education
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An early understanding of the personality profiles of junior trainees may be valuable for supporting the professional and educational development of tomorrow's doctors. ⋯ According to the Mental Muscle Diagram Indicator analysis, this work shows that the more junior the trainees are in their career, the more they tend to enjoy human interaction and to favor acting before thinking. The most junior trainees tend to be slightly more interested in dealing with facts rather than ideas and favor a flexible approach of life. The reducing ratio of Extroversion and Sensing in the core trainees when compared with foundation doctors may suggest that clinical experience has an effect on personality. As trainees begin to progress, they may tend to reflect more on their practice and to start thinking about more long term. These results suggest that a greater understanding of their personality preferences and how they might change with experience may help trainees to develop a greater personal and professional insight.
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Following our preliminary study on junior medical students' comfort levels in performing the head and neck physical examination (H&NPE) before and after a department-led teaching session, we assessed the longitudinal effect of this session on students during the core clinical clerkship year, in which these skills were performed on real patients. ⋯ The initial teaching session persistently improved medical students' comfort levels in performing the H&NPE, with some attrition in comfort levels with performing the nasal examination and complete H&NPE. An otolaryngologist-directed, practical educational intervention may permanently reinforce the acquisition of complex skills such as the H&NPE.
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The Communication Assessment Tool (CAT) has been used and validated to assess Family and Emergency Medicine resident communication skills from the patient's perspective. However, it has not been previously reported as an outcome measure for general surgery residents. The purpose of this study is to establish initial benchmarking data for the use of the CAT as an evaluation tool in an osteopathic general surgery residency program. Results are analyzed quarterly and used by the program director to provide meaningful feedback and targeted goal setting for residents to demonstrate progressive achievement of interpersonal and communication skills with patients. ⋯ The CAT is a useful tool for measuring 1 facet of resident communication skills-the patient's perception of the physician-patient encounter. The tool provides a unique and personalized outcome measure for identifying communication strengths and improvement opportunities, allowing residents to receive specific feedback and mentoring by program directors.