Journal of surgical education
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Effective provider-patient communication has several benefits; however, few surgical residency programs have communication training and surgical residents have limited time for education. We developed a communication curriculum with limited didactics and emphasis on practice. Our objective was to evaluate whether this time-limited intervention led to changes in surgical resident communication skills. ⋯ The brief modules led to increased self-reported use of communication skills and were effective in improving resident communication in OSCEs. This may be a useful curricular model for both surgical and nonsurgical residency programs with limited availability for curricular time.
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In response to ongoing concerns regarding transmission of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), surgical practice has changed for the foreseeable future. Practice guidelines recommend only urgent or emergent surgical procedures be performed to minimize viral transmission. This effectively limits standard training and practice for surgical residents. The purpose of this article is to describe opportunities in surgical simulation, and highlights the challenges associated with training in the COVID-19 era. ⋯ This manuscript concisely discusses simulation options available to training programs, including the novel concept of "surgical kits." These kits include all instruments necessary to simulate a procedure at home, effectively pairing safety and utility.
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To describe the modified operational plan we implemented for residents and faculty in our orthopedic surgery department to allow continuation of resident education and other core activities during the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. ⋯ We have been proactive and deliberate in implementing these operational changes, without compromise of our workforce. This experience provides residents exposure to real-life systems-based practice. We hope that our early experience will provide a framework for other surgical residency programs facing this crisis.
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Many studies have sought to determine predictors of academic career placement in surgical subspecialities. However, previous research has yet to establish whether the ranking of a surgeon's undergraduate institution or medical school is significantly associated with pursuit of an academic career. The purpose of this study was to investigate these novel factors' predictive impact on an academic career in the surgical subspeciality of neurosurgery. Factors investigated included undergraduate university rankings, medical school rankings, and residency program rankings. ⋯ Our study establishes 3 novel factors for predicting residents' choice of pursuing an academic career in neurological surgery, namely undergraduate university rank, medical school rank, and completing residency at a program affiliated with a "top" research medical school. Such findings reinforce the notion that educational and training environments are key in shaping the career trajectory of future academic surgical subspecialists.