Journal of surgical education
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To assess if implementing Nighttime Nurse and Physician Paging System (NNAPPS) would improve nurse and physician communication as well as reduce the number of nonurgent pages to residents taking overnight call. ⋯ NNAPPS significantly reduced nonurgent pages, total pages and pages per patient during a night shift compared to services with conventional systems. Streamlined paging systems lead to more efficient communication between providers and decrease the nonurgent pages to residents. NNAPPS continued high standards of patient care and improved sleep patterns for residents.
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The Association of Program Directors in Surgery/American College of Surgeons national skills curriculum provides residency programs with a great educational tool for their residents. Our objective was to assess the feasibility, value, and cost required to administer a procedural workshop for general surgery residents based on phase II of the national skills curriculum. ⋯ The feasibility of a cadaveric and animal-based procedural workshop for surgery residents based on phase II of the national skills curriculum was demonstrated. While very resource-intensive and costly, the educational value of this workshop was rated highly by residents and faculty because of their close interaction in a relaxed environment. Such workshops should be incorporated into the surgical curriculum.
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The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of the initiation of a pediatric surgery fellowship on general surgery resident operative volume at 1 major academic institution. ⋯ Even with an increase in the number of attending surgeons, RVUs, and admissions, the fellowship resulted in a decrease in general surgery resident index and overall case volume in pediatric surgery. Although operative volume is only 1 measure of surgical educational value, these findings suggest that the addition of surgical fellowships affects the educational experience of general surgery residents. We recommend that residency programs establish goals and calculate any potential impact on general surgery resident case volume before initiating a new surgical fellowship.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Structured training on box trainers for first year surgical residents: does it improve retention of laparoscopic skills? A randomized controlled study.
Structured training on box trainers in laparoscopic skills in the initial years of residency has been used and found to be effective. Although there are studies that confirm immediate improvement after training, there is a lack of well-designed trials addressing the crucial issue of retention of these skills over time. The purpose of this study is to assess improvement in laparoscopic skills of surgical trainees after structured training on box trainers, compared with traditional training (observing and assisting laparoscopic procedures in the operation rooms) immediately and after 5 months. ⋯ Structured training on box trainers, in addition to traditional training, compared with traditional training alone, leads to better skills and improved confidence of residents. There is significant retention of skills at the end of 5 months. These results provide support for incorporation of structured training with box trainers for laparoscopic skills into surgical training programs.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Residents can successfully teach basic surgical skills in the simulation center.
Basic surgical skills are frequently taught to surgical interns in simulation centers. Faculty recruitment for teaching of these sessions can be difficult. The goal of this study was to determine whether senior surgical residents can effectively teach basic surgical skills to provide an alternative to faculty-led instruction. ⋯ In the simulation center, teaching by senior surgical residents and faculty members resulted in comparable improvement in interns' basic surgical skills. These findings could increase the skill instructor pool for teaching in the simulation center, potentially easing recruitment and providing senior residents with teaching opportunities.