Journal of surgical education
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This study evaluated the effect of the fellowship interview process in a cohort of general surgery residents. We hypothesized that the interview process would be associated with significant clinical time lost, monetary expenses, and increased need for shift coverage. ⋯ The surgical fellowship match is relatively burdensome to residents and programs alike, and merits critical assessment for potential improvement.
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Many institutions use social media to share research with the general public. However, the influence of social media on the dissemination of a surgical research article itself is unknown. Our objective was to determine whether a blog post highlighting the findings of a surgical research article would lead to increased dissemination of the article itself. ⋯ Social media is an important tool for sharing surgical research. Our data suggest that social media can increase distribution of an article's message and also potentially increase dissemination of the article itself. We believe that authors should consider using social media to increase the dissemination of traditionally published articles.
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Surgical programs strive to recruit trainees who will graduate as competent surgeons; however, selection processes vary between institutions. The purpose of the present study was to (1) solicit program directors' (PDs) opinions on the proportion of trainees who have difficulty achieving competence and (2) establish consensus on the desired attributes of general surgery (GS) candidates and the technical skills that would be most indicative of future performance. ⋯ PDs indicate that of the 3 domains, the largest proportion of trainees had difficulty reaching competence in technical skill. Consensus among PDs suggests that top personal attributes include work ethic and passion for surgery. Consensus of technical tasks for inclusion into selection was basic open and laparoscopic skills.
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Review Comparative Study
Repaying in Kind: Examination of the Reciprocity Effect in Faculty and Resident Evaluations.
Although the reciprocity hypothesis (that trainees have a tendency to modify evaluations based on the grades they receive from instructors) has been documented in other fields, very little work has examined this phenomenon in the surgical residency environment. The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which lenient-grading faculty receive higher evaluations from surgery residents. ⋯ Results suggest that there is a reciprocity effect in the faculty and resident evaluation process.
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Comparative Study
Reliability and Validity of 3 Methods of Assessing Orthopedic Resident Skill in Shoulder Surgery.
Traditional measures for evaluating resident surgical technical skills (e.g., case logs) assess operative volume but not level of surgical proficiency. Our goal was to compare the reliability and validity of 3 tools for measuring surgical skill among orthopedic residents when performing 3 open surgical approaches to the shoulder. ⋯ OSATS checklists are a valid and reliable assessment of technical skills across 3 surgical shoulder approaches. However, checklist scores do not measure quality of technique. Documenting adverse events is necessary to assess quality of technique and ultimate pass/fail status. Multiple methods of assessing surgical skill should be considered when evaluating orthopedic resident surgical performance.