Journal of the American College of Surgeons
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Comparative Study
Impact of work-hour restrictions on residents' operative volume on a subspecialty surgical service.
Whether the 80 hours per week limit on surgical residents' work hours has reduced the number or variety of cases performed by residents is unknown. ⋯ The 80-hour limit has had minimal impact on residents' operative experience, in case number and variety, and residents' perceptions of their educational experience. Residents' reduction in duty hours may have been achieved at the expense of outpatient clinic experiences.
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Comment Letter Historical Article
Centennial perspective on burn treatment.
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We performed this study to determine rates of close or transected cancer margins after magnetic resonance imaging-guided bracket wire localization for nonpalpable breast lesions. ⋯ To our knowledge, this is the first report of MRI-guided bracket wire localization. Patients with MRI-detected lesions less than 4 cm had clear margins at first excision; larger MRI-detected lesions were more likely to have close/transected margins. Reexcision was often because of DCIS and was the only pathology found at reexcision, perhaps because MRI is more sensitive for detecting invasive carcinoma than DCIS.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
A randomized, controlled trial evaluating the impact of a computerized rounding and sign-out system on continuity of care and resident work hours.
Adoption of limits on resident work hours prompted us to develop a centralized, Web-based computerized rounding and sign-out system (UWCores) that securely stores sign-out information; automatically downloads patient data (vital signs, laboratories); and prints them to rounding, sign-out, and progress note templates. We tested the hypothesis that this tool would positively impact continuity of care and resident workflow by improving team communication involving patient handovers and streamlining inefficiencies, such as hand-copying patient data during work before rounds ("prerounds"). ⋯ This system enhances patient care by decreasing patients missed on resident rounds and improving resident-reported quality of sign-out and continuity of care. It decreases by up to 3 hours per week (range 1.5 to 3) the time used by residents to complete rounds; it diverts prerounding time from recopying data to more productive tasks; and it facilitates meeting the 80-hour work week requirement by helping residents finish their work sooner.