Surgery
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Health care systems provide care to increasingly complex and elderly patients. Colorectal surgery is a prime example, with high volumes of major procedures, significant morbidity, prolonged hospital stays, and unplanned readmissions. This situation is exacerbated by an exponential rise in costs that threatens the stability of health care systems. Enhanced recovery pathways (ERP) have been proposed as a means to reduce morbidity and improve effectiveness of care. We have reviewed the evidence supporting the implementation of ERP in clinical practice. ⋯ Adherence to ERP achieves a reproducible improvement in the quality of care by enabling standardization of health care processes. Thus, while accelerating recovery and safely reducing hospital stay, ERPs optimize utilization of health care resources. ERPs can and should be routinely used in care after colorectal and other major gastrointestinal procedures.
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The Consortium of American College of Surgeons-Accredited Education Institutes was created to explore new opportunities in simulation-based surgical education and training beyond the scope of individual accredited institutes. During the Third Annual Meeting of the Consortium of American College of Surgeons-Accredited Education Institutes Consortium, 4 work groups addressed the validation and transfer of surgical skills, the use of nonsurgeons as faculty, the use of simulation to screen and select surgery residents, and long-term follow-up of learners. The key elements from the deliberations and conclusions are summarized in this manuscript.