Journal of the American College of Surgeons
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There is increasing interest in profiling the quality of individual medical providers. Valid assessment of individuals should highlight improvement opportunities, but must be considered in the context of limitations. ⋯ Individual surgeon profiles can, at times, be distinguished with moderate or good reliability, but to different degrees in different models. Absolute and relative comparisons are feasible. Incorporating institutional level effects in individual provider modeling presents an interesting policy dilemma, appearing to benefit providers at "poor-performing" institutions, but penalizing those at "high-performing" ones. No portrayal of individual medical provider quality should be accepted without consideration of modeling rationale and, critically, reliability.
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In our present health and medical education system, participation of residents and fellows is under increasing scrutiny regarding their role in surgery and the outcomes of the procedure. Our goal was to perform a clinical outcomes analysis investigating resident and fellow participation in breast surgery. ⋯ Resident/fellow participation does not negatively affect early postoperative breast surgery outcomes, and complication rates are unrelated to the training level of the participating resident/fellow surgeon.