In this issue of the Journal, several important studies document the existence of a perpetual problem in graduate medical education—resident burnout—and emphasize the importance of developing countermeasures.1–3 Of note, another group of notable articles exploring the consequences of the recent regulation of resident duty hours, with many showing no discernible improvement of resident burnout despite the mandated shorter work week.4–9 In this latter group of studies, residents reported being a bit more rested than before implementation of the shorter week and that their time away from work was more enjoyable.
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From the Guest Editors
MD
Abstract
The last major change in medical education was the Flexner Report, over a century ago. Since that time, iterative improvements have occurred to the question-and-answer and “see one, do one, teach one” educational environment. However, multiple external forces—from the 80-hour work week to the emphasis on patient safety to competing demands on student and faculty time—have raised calls for a fundamental revamping of the entire medical educational process. Fortunately, new methods, curricula, and processes, such as Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education competencies or Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skills, as well as innovative technologies such as web-based learning and simulation, have provided opportunities to support the revolution in medical education that will be responsive to national priorities, the public concern, and, most of all, to patient safety.
PhD, MBA
Articles in the second issue of the Journal encompass 4 themes: resident duty hours, simulation, professionalism, and resident burnout. Alone and in combination, these topics have been the focus of much discussion, and the December 2008 report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) consensus committee heightened the intensity of the debate. The editorial by co–guest editor Kenneth Ludmerer, MD, explores the history of how residents learn from their patients and their faculty, and describes changes that simultaneously increased clinical demand and attenuated clinical learning in teaching hospitals. It also highlights the interconnectedness of 3 of the themes—duty hours,
Duty Hours
MD,
MPH,
MBBS,
MD, and
MD
Abstract
Background
In late 2008, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) published a report recommending more restrictive limits on resident work hours to promote patient safety. Reaction from the graduate medical education community has focused on concerns about a lack of evidence supporting the IOM’s recommendations. We highlight 3 concerns with the report: 1) a disproportionate attention to resident fatigue when changes in other areas may have a larger impact on patient safety. Data supporting a causal link between resident fatigue and medical errors that harm patients are not robust. Two areas where data support a stronger impact on patient safety include resident supervision and transitions of care; 2) a “one size fits all” model when specialty-specific recommendations may be more appropriate. For example, 16 hours on task is not at all similar for residents in different specialties (ie, surgery and primary care); and 3) the absence of a process to evaluate the impact of current or potential duty hour requirements on outcomes. Because these potential impacts have not been sufficiently researched, it is premature to support additional changes at this time.
Recommendations
To move forward in a comprehensive manner, we recommend the following: 1) support more research to evaluate the effects of duty hours in conjunction with other interrelated factors on patient safety, 2) encourage individual Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Review committees to develop specialty specific duty hour limitations, and 3) develop partnerships between the IOM, ACGME, and the institutions directly involved with medical education to study how to maximize patient safety while maintaining quality educational outcomes.
MD,
MD,
MD, MSc, and
MD, MEd
Abstract
Background
In December 2008 the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released a report recommending limits on resident hours that are considerably more restrictive than the current Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education duty hour standards.
Intervention
In March 2009, a large pediatric residency program implemented a 1-month trial of a schedule and team structure fully congruent with the IOM recommendations to study the implications of such a schedule.
Methods
Comparison of the interns' experience in the trialed intervention schedule was made to interns working a traditional schedule with every fourth night call.
Results
The residents on the intervention schedule averaged 7.8 hours of sleep per 24-hour period compared to 7.6 hours for interns in a traditional schedule. Participation in bedside rounds and formal didactic conferences was decreased in the intervention schedule. Several factors contributed to increased perceived work intensity for interns in the intervention schedule. Redistribution of work during busy shifts altered the role of senior residents and attending physicians which may have a negative effect on senior residents' ability to develop skills as supervisors and educators.
Conclusions
The trial implementation suggests it is possible to implement the proposed duty hour limits in a pediatric residency, but it would require a significant increase in the resident workforce (at least 25% and possibly 50%) to care for the same number of patients. Furthermore, the education model would need to undergo significant changes. Further trials of the IOM recommendations are needed prior to widespread implementation in order to learn what works best and causes the least harm, disruption, and unnecessary cost to the system.
MD,
MD,
MD,
MD,
MD, and
MD
Abstract
Background
In December 2008, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released the report of a consensus committee recommending added limits on resident duty hours.
Methods
Perceptions of interns participating in a 1-month trial implementation of the IOM-recommended duty hour limits in one large pediatric residency program during March 2009 were aggregated.
Results
Interns experienced benefits from the shift-based schedule, including reduced hours and more nights at home. These were accompanied by shortcomings of the new schedule, most prominently increased intensity during the hours worked, weaknesses in sign-outs and handing off of tasks, and inability to know and “own” all patients on the interns' team. The experiment also changed the role and the level of engagement expected from attending physicians.
Conclusions
The trial implementation of the IOM-recommended limits highlighted that to adapt to additional reduction in hours, residency education needs a significant culture change, including better sign-outs, improved organization of bedside and didactic education, and attention to the added work intensity of a team-based model with daily admissions. Ultimately this may require an adjustment in residents' workload and different expectations and models of support from attending physicians.
MD
Abstract
Background
Sleep deprivation negatively affects resident performance, education, and safety. Concerns over these effects have prompted efforts to reduce resident hours. This article describes the design and implementation of a scheduling system with no continuous 24-hour calls. Aims included meeting Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education work hour requirements without increasing resident complement, maximizing continuity of learning and patient care, maintaining patient care quality, and acceptance by residents, faculty, and administration.
Methods
Various coverage options were formulated and discussed. The final schedule was the product of consensus. After re-engineering the master rotation schedule, service-specific conversion of on-call schedules was initiated in July 2003 and completed in July 2004. Annual in-training and certifying examination performance, length of stay, patient mortalities, resident motor vehicle accidents/near misses, and resident satisfaction with the new scheduling system were tracked.
Results
Continuous 24-hour call has been eliminated from the program since July 2004, with the longest assigned shift being 14 hours. Residents have at least 1 free weekend per month, a 10-hour break between consecutive assigned duty hours, and a mandatory 4-hour “nap” break if assigned a night shift immediately following a day shift. Program-wide, duty hours average 66 hours per week for first-year residents, 63 hours per week for second-year residents, and 60 hours per week for third-year residents. Self-reported motor vehicle accidents and/or near misses of accidents significantly decreased (P < .001) and resident satisfaction increased (P = .42). The change was accomplished at no additional cost to the institution and with no adverse patient care or educational outcomes.
Conclusions
Pediatric residency training with restriction to 14 consecutive duty hours is effective and well accepted by stakeholders. Five years later, the re-engineered schedule has become the new “normal” for our program.
MD, MS,
MD,
MD,
MD, MPH, CPE,
MSA, and
MD
Abstract
Purpose
To examine the opinions of family medicine residency program directors concerning the potential impact of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) resident duty hour recommendations on patient care and resident education.
Methods
A survey was mailed to 455 family medicine residency program directors. Data were summarized and analyzed using Epi Info statistical software. Significance was set at the P < .01 level.
Results
A total of 265 surveys were completed (60.9% response rate). A majority of family medicine residency program directors disagreed or strongly disagreed that the recent IOM duty hour recommendations will, in general, result in improved patient safety and resident education. Further, a majority of respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed that the proposed IOM rules would result in residents becoming more compassionate, more effective family physicians.
Conclusion
A majority of family medicine residency program directors believe that the proposed IOM duty hour recommendations would have a primarily detrimental effect on both patient care and resident education.
MD,
MD,
MD MPH,
MD,
MD, and
PhD
Abstract
Background
In 2003, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education standardized and regulated work hours for physicians in training in the United States. In December 2008, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommended further reductions in duty hours to ensure safer conditions for patients and residents and fellows. Significantly, the IOM committee acknowledged that there are barriers to implementing its recommendations.
Methods
In the wake of the IOM proposals, we chose to survey a reference closer to home: residency program directors, faculty, and residents. Our survey allowed them the opportunity to express their opinions regarding the IOM proposals.
Results
The majority of the faculty oppose the proposed IOM changes, arguing that there is no definite evidence to support the hypothesis that fewer work hours mean better outcomes in patient safety and education. First-year residents and residents who moonlight were more likely to experience stress and to support decreased work hours.
Conclusions
The thoughts and opinions of faculty and residents collected through this survey, in combination with evidence-based studies from trial implementation of these standards, will contribute real answers to the challenging questions on resident work hours.
Professionalism
PhD,
MD, MEd,
MSc,
MD, and
MD, MPH
Abstract
Background
The competency of professionalism encompasses a range of behaviors in multiple domains. Residency programs are struggling to integrate and effectively assess professionalism. We report results from a survey assessing residents’ perceptions of their professional competence and the professionalism of their learning environment.
Methods
A survey was developed to assess specific behaviors reflecting professionalism based on the conceptualizations of key accrediting bodies. Residents rated their ability to perform the behaviors and reported the frequency with which they observed their fellow residents failing to perform the behaviors. Eighty-five senior residents in emergency medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, psychiatry, and surgery specialties completed the survey (response rate = 77%). Differences among domains (and among items within domains) were assessed. Correlations between perceived professionalism and the professionalism of the learning environment were described.
Results
Cronbach alpha for professionalism competence was .93 and for professionalism in the learning environment it was .86. Residents reported feeling most competent in being accountable (mean score = 51.4%; F = 10.3, p<.001) and in demonstrating respect. Some residents reported having trouble being sensitive to patients (n = 5 to 23). Disrespectful behaviors were the most frequently witnessed professionalism lapse in the learning environment (mean = 41.1%; F = 8.1, p<.001). While serious lapses in professionalism were not witnessed with great frequency in the learning environment, instances of over-representing qualifications were reported. Problems in accountability in the learning environment were negatively associated with residents’ perceived competence.
Conclusions
Residents reported being able to perform professionally most of the time, especially in terms of accountability and respect. However, disrespect was a feature of the learning environment for many residents and several serious lapses were witnessed by a small number of residents. Accountability in the learning environment may be an important indicator of or influence on residents’ professionalism.
MD MPH,
MD, and
MD
Abstract
Objectives
To implement a 360-degree resident evaluation instrument on the postanesthesia care unit (PACU) rotation and to determine the reliability, feasibility, and validity of this tool for assessing residents' professionalism and interpersonal and communication skills.
Methods
Thirteen areas of evaluation were selected to assess the professionalism and interpersonal and communication skills of residents during their PACU rotation. Each area was measured on a 9-point Likert scale (1, unsatisfactory performance, to 9, outstanding performance). Rating forms were distributed to raters after the completion of the PACU rotation. Raters included PACU nurses, secretarial staff, nurse aides, and medical technicians. Residents were aware of the 360-degree assessment and participated voluntarily. The multiple raters' evaluations were then compared with those of the traditional faculty. Intraclass correlation coefficients were calculated to measure the reliability of ratings within each category of raters by the Pearson correlation coefficient.
Results
Four hundred twenty-nine rating forms were returned during the study period. Fifteen residents were evaluated. The response rate was 88%. Residents were ranked highest on availability and lowest on management skill. The average rating across all areas was high (8.23). The average mean rating across all items from PACU nurses was higher (8.34) than from secretarial staff (7.99, P > .08). The highest ranked resident ranked high with all raters and the lowest ranked was low with most raters. The intraclass coefficients of correlations were 0.8719, 0.7860, 0.8268, and 0.8575.
Conclusions
This type of resident assessment tool may be useful for PACU rotations. It appears to correlate with traditional faculty ratings, is feasible to use, and provides formative feedback to residents regarding their professionalism and interpersonal and communication skills.
MD and
PhD
Abstract
Background
Research defining professionalism exists, yet little is known about how residents view this important attribute for medical practice. Knowing more about residents' interpretations of professionalism and about how they value professionalism would enhance definitions and facilitate support for the development of professionalism skills and behaviors at the graduate level.
Purpose
The purpose of this phenomenological study was to investigate how residents think about professionalism, how they value it, and how it plays out in their educational lives.
Methods
This study uses qualitative methods, employing 5 focus groups representative of a range of disciplines. Methods include providing unstructured prompts, member checking and informant feedback to support credibility, and content analysis to discern significant patterns.
Results
Content analysis supported that residents highly value professionalism and see it as a complex construct, dependent on the situation, discipline, and on personal experience. Challenges to professionalism are common in graduate medical education and a great concern for residents.
Conclusions
Physician educators often discuss professionalism as an overarching concept in medicine, especially in classes during the preclinical years. Although some general principles are applicable, residents relate more deeply to aspects of professionalism that concern their own clinical practice, situation, and specialty. Implications for measurement of professional skills and for further research are included in this report.
Resident Burnout and CounterMeasures
PhD,
PhD,
MD, and
MD
Abstract
Background
The existing literature either does not address physician wellness or defines it as a lack of burnout. The goal of this article is to call attention to this important gap in the literature and provide ideas for how to fill it. We need a culture change, and we propose that this change begin within graduate medical education.
Methods
We describe a case example of culture change and definitions of wellness at William Beaumont Hospitals, Troy Family Medicine Residency Program, a community-based, university-affiliated program in suburban Detroit, Michigan.
Results
We developed a toolbox of practical steps to create a culture that emphasizes wellness. We present a general timeline illustrating necessary steps toward accomplishing a true cultural change.
Discussion
The time has come for academic medicine to move beyond a simple discussion of physician burnout. To do this, we must first develop a shared definition of physician wellness followed by interventional strategies to bolster it. The benefits of cultural change include providing a more positive educational environment for residents and faculty, raising awareness of burnout and its symptoms, decreasing the stigma associated with admitting burnout symptoms, enabling the development of prevention strategies, and creating a more positive, strength-based approach to understanding the toll of physician-patient relationships on physicians.
MD,
MD, and
MD
Abstract
Objectives
To assess burnout, behavioral-medicine skills, and empathy among obstetrics and gynecology residents before and after implementation of Balint training.
Methods
This was a prospective educational study. Balint training was introduced into the obstetrics and gynecology residency curriculum in July 2005. All 36 residents were approached for this study. The Psychological Medicine Inventory, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, and the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy were administered prior to initiating training and at 12 months. Baseline and 12-month scores were compared by Wilcoxon signed rank test.
Results
Seventeen residents completed baseline and 12-month questionnaires: 6 were postgraduate year (PGY) 1, 3 were PGY-2, 6 were PGY-3, and 2 were PGY-4. At baseline, 70% of participating residents reported high burnout scores. Burnout and empathy remained unchanged at 12 months. Psychological medicine skills improved at 12 months.
Conclusions
This study showed that obstetrics and gynecology residents are at high risk for burnout. Interest and confidence in handling psychological aspects of patient care improved at 12 months after the introduction of Balint training.
MD, FAPA,
PsyD,
MD,
DO,
MA,
MD,
MD, and
MD
Abstract
Objective
Burnout is a state of mental and physical exhaustion related to work or care giving activities. Burnout during residency training has gained significant attention secondary to concerns regarding job performance and patient care. This article reviews the relevant literature on burnout in order to provide information to educators about its prevalence, features, impact, and potential interventions.
Methods
Studies were identified through a Medline and PsychInfo search from 1974 to 2009. Fifty-one studies were identified. Definition and description of burnout and measurement methods are presented followed by a thorough review of the studies.
Results
An examination of the burnout literature reveals that it is prevalent in medical students (28%–45%), residents (27%–75%, depending on specialty), as well as practicing physicians. Psychological distress and physical symptoms can impact work performance and patient safety. Distress during medical school can lead to burnout, which in turn can result in negative consequences as a working physician. Burnout also poses significant challenges during early training years in residency. Time demands, lack of control, work planning, work organization, inherently difficult job situations, and interpersonal relationships, are considered factors contributing to residents' burnout. Potential interventions include workplace-driven and individual-driven measures. Workplace interventions include education about burnout, workload modifications, increasing the diversity of work duties, stress management training, mentoring, emotional intelligence training, and wellness workshops. Individual-driven behavioral, social, and physical activities include promoting interpersonal professional relations, meditation, counseling, and exercise.
Conclusions
Educators need to develop an active awareness of burnout and ought to consider incorporating relevant instruction and interventions during the process of training resident physicians.
Simulation
PhD,
MA, and
MS
It has been over a decade since the seminal Institute of Medicine report To Err Is Human 1 was published, and the importance of teamwork in safety and quality of care is now broadly recognized and accepted. However, clinicians and medical educators continue to struggle to integrate team concepts into curricula and quality improvement projects. There have been successes, but progress to date has been slower and less widespread than the urgency of the problem requires.
Simulation-based training (SBT) is a powerful strategy to reach this end product of effective team-based care. However, as with any tool, the
MD, PhD,
PhD, and
MPA
Abstract
Aims
The aims of this research are to begin to understand health care teams in their operational environment, establish metrics of performance for these teams, and validate a series of scenarios in simulation that elicit team and technical skills. The focus is on defining the team model that will function in the operational environment in which health care professionals work.
Methods
Simulations were performed across the United States in 70- to 1000-bed hospitals. Multidisciplinary health care teams analyzed more than 300 hours of videos of health care professionals performing simulations of team-based medical care in several different disciplines. Raters were trained to enhance inter-rater reliability.
Results
The study validated event sets that trigger team dynamics and established metrics for team-based care. Team skills were identified and modified using simulation scenarios that employed the event-set-design process. Specific skills (technical and team) were identified by criticality measurement and task analysis methodology.
Discussion
In situ simulation, which includes a purposeful and Socratic Method of debriefing, is a powerful intervention that can overcome inertia found in clinician behavior and latent environmental systems that present a challenge to quality and patient safety. In situ simulation can increase awareness of risks, personalize the risks, and encourage the reflection, effort, and attention needed to make changes to both behaviors and to systems.
MD,
MD,
RN,
MD,
MD, and
MD
Abstract
Introduction
Trauma resuscitations require a coordinated response from a diverse group of health care providers. Currently, there are no widely accepted methods of assessing team effectiveness in this setting. Simulation affords a method to assess team effectiveness. The purpose of this study was to use a simulation setting to develop a specialized assessment instrument for team response in trauma resuscitation.
Methods
We developed our assessment instrument using clinical simulation. Four teams of 3 postgraduate year–2 surgical trainees in conjunction with scripted confederates were videotaped enacting 6 separate trauma resuscitation scenarios that mirrored clinical conditions encountered at our level 1 trauma center. Ten of the resulting videotaped scenarios represented a spectrum of team behavior (ineffective to effective) and were scored by 8 experienced clinicians using the Mayo High Performance Teamwork Scale.
Results
Based in part on the Mayo High Performance Teamwork Scale, we created a prototype trauma team assessment tool consisting of 7 attributes that we scored in binary fashion (present/absent). We validated this prototype by assigning a normalized ranking score to each of the 10 scenarios based on the score supplied by each rater. The presence/absence of the 7 attributes varied significantly among scenarios (52.5% to 93.8%; P < .001). Median scores differed significantly comparing the 5 lowest-ranking scenarios with the 5 highest-ranking scenarios (P < .001).
Conclusion
Our prototype instrument may be effective at assessing team effectiveness during trauma resuscitations. This instrument may prove useful for assessing team competency skills, providing timely feedback to teams, and examining the relationship between effective team function and clinically important outcomes. Further, it may be applicable to other high-acuity, time-sensitive clinical situations.
MD,
MD,
DO,
MD,
PhD, and
MD
Abstract
Objective
Postpartum hemorrhage is a common and potentially life-threatening obstetric emergency. We sought to create a realistic simulation and validate a standardized grading form to evaluate competency in the management of postpartum hemorrhage.
Methods
Residents from 3 programs underwent training with a postpartum hemorrhage simulation using a standard obstetric birthing model equipped with an inflatable uterus to simulate uterine atony. All simulations were graded by staff physicians with a standardized grading sheet constructed from the current literature on the topic. Residents were expected to recognize the hemorrhage and take appropriate steps, including asking the assistant to administer medications, to correct the problem. Objective and subjective performance was measured with standardized grading sheets, and results were analyzed for reliability using Cronbach α and intraclass correlation coefficients. This project was conducted in accordance with the hospital Institutional Review Board policies at each institution.
Results
Forty residents from 3 institutions underwent simulation training. The majority were unable to correct the hemorrhage within 5 minutes and almost half also made at least 1 error, either the dose or route, in the medications they requested. Reliability was evaluated with Cronbach α and demonstrated the grading sheets were valid and had good interrater reliability.
Discussion
A simulated postpartum hemorrhage scenario can identify important deficiencies in resident knowledge and performance, with no risk to patients. The standardized grading form worked well for our purposes and was reliable in our study. Further testing is needed to evaluate whether the training improves performance in real-life hemorrhages.
MD,
MD, and
MD
Abstract
Objective
To validate standardized instructions for the creation, implementation, and performance assessment of a low-fidelity model for Pfannenstiel incision.
Study Design
The Pfannenstiel model used at the University of Florida-Jacksonville was broken down into composite steps and constructed by obstetrics-gynecology faculty from across the country. The model was then utilized at participants' home institutions and evaluated with respect to realism of the model, ability to replicate the simulation, appropriateness of the skills checklists, and perceived utility of a publication of similarly catalogued simulation modules for use in obstetrics-gynecology training programs.
Results
The model was correctly constructed by 94.7% (18 of 19) participants and 72.2% (13 of 18) completed a post construction/post simulation survey indicating a high degree of perceived educational utility, feasibility of construction, and desire for additional catalogued modules.
Conclusions
A low-fidelity simulation model was developed, successfully reproduced using inexpensive materials, and implemented across multiple training programs. This model can serve as a template for developing, standardizing and cataloging other low-fidelity simulations for use in resident education. As discussions among medical educators continue regarding further restrictions on duty hours, it is highly likely that more programs will be looking for guidance in establishing quick, inexpensive, and reliable means of developing and assessing surgical skills in their learners. Furthermore, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) has well-defined goals of programs developing better and more reproducible tools for all of their assessments. For programs with limited resources, preparing and disseminating reproducible, validated tools could be invaluable in complying with future ACGME mandates.
MS, MBA,
MD,
MSN, ARNP,
RN, MSN,
MSN, ARNP, and
MD, MPH
Abstract
Aim
After finishing medical school, interns are in many ways unprepared for handling patient care challenges independently. Recognizing that interns may benefit from a patient safety orientation, we developed an innovative curriculum to impart competencies related to their role in preventing medical errors. In the course, which runs during the first week of the intern year, we specifically address 1) calling for help; 2) teamwork and communication; 3) hand hygiene compliance; and, 4) preventing medication and other system errors.
Methods
The course consists of a lecture, interactive workshop, and a Web-based didactic component. Small-group simulation sessions allow instructors to assess interns' baseline competence in hand hygiene and patient hand-offs. In an individual exercise, interns performed a directed physical exam on a standardized patient and their hand hygiene adherence was recorded. In a group exercise, team performance was evaluated in accepting a hand-off from another provider and managing a deteriorating patient.
Results
Of the 131 interns, 35% (41) did not wash their hands before and 95% (121) did not wash their hands after patient examination. In the team exercise, scores for 23 teams ranged from 8 to 18 out of 30. None of the participants asked for additional information prior to accepting responsibility for the patient, despite a clearly inadequate hand-off. Post-course surveys indicate that interns consider the course worthwhile: 95% (121) found it beneficial, acquired new teamwork skills, had more appreciation for patient safety, and felt better prepared for clinical duties.
Discussion
We observed serious gaps in hand-hygiene compliance and in communication during hand-offs, both significant impediments to quality patient care. Nevertheless, positive responses to the course from both the interns and the institution reflect an important step in fostering a culture of patient safety.
Components of Critical Decision Making and ABSITE Assessment: Toward a More Comprehensive Evaluation
MD MCh,
PhD,
MD, MPH, MS,
PhD,
MD, and
MD
Abstract
Rationale
Accurate assessment of resident competency is a fundamental requisite to assure the training of physicians is adequate. In surgical disciplines, structured tests as well as ongoing evaluation by faculty are used for evaluating resident competency. Although structured tests evaluate content knowledge, faculty ratings are a better measure of how that knowledge is applied to real-world problems. In this study, we sought to explore the performance of surgical residents in a simulation exercise (strategic management simulations [SMS]) as an objective surrogate of real-world performance.
Methods
Forty surgical residents participated in the SMS simulation that entailed decision making in a real-world−oriented task situation. The task requirements enable the assessment of decision making along several parameters of thinking under both crisis and noncrisis situations. Performance attributes include “simpler” measures of competency (activity level), intermediate categories (information management and emergency responses) to complex measures (breadth of approach and strategy). Scores obtained in the SMS were compared with the scores obtained on the American Board of Surgery In-Training Examination (ABSITE).
Results
The data were intercorrelated and subjected to a multiple regression analysis with ABSITE as the dependent variable and simulation scores as independent variables. Using a 1-tail test analysis, only 3 simulation variables correlated with performance on ABSITE at the .01 level (ie, basic activity, focused activity, task orientation). Other simulation variables showed no meaningful relationships to ABSITE scores at all.
Conclusions
The more complex real-world−oriented decision-making parameters on SMS did not correlate with ABSITE scores. We believe that techniques such as the SMS, which focus on critical thinking, complement assessment of medical knowledge using ABSITE. The SMS technique provides an accurate measure of real-world performance and provides objective validation of faculty ratings.
Innovation in SBP and PBLI
PhD,
MD,
MD, and
PhD
Abstract
Background
The Outcome Project requires high-quality assessment approaches to provide reliable and valid judgments of the attainment of competencies deemed important for physician practice.
Intervention
The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) convened the Advisory Committee on Educational Outcome Assessment in 2007–2008 to identify high-quality assessment methods. The assessments selected by this body would form a core set that could be used by all programs in a specialty to assess resident performance and enable initial steps toward establishing national specialty databases of program performance. The committee identified a small set of methods for provisional use and further evaluation. It also developed frameworks and processes to support the ongoing evaluation of methods and the longer-term enhancement of assessment in graduate medical education.
Outcome
The committee constructed a set of standards, a methodology for applying the standards, and grading rules for their review of assessment method quality. It developed a simple report card for displaying grades on each standard and an overall grade for each method reviewed. It also described an assessment system of factors that influence assessment quality. The committee proposed a coordinated, national-level infrastructure to support enhancements to assessment, including method development and assessor training. It recommended the establishment of a new assessment review group to continue its work of evaluating assessment methods. The committee delivered a report summarizing its activities and 5 related recommendations for implementation to the ACGME Board in September 2008.
PhD,
PhD, and
MD
Abstract
Purpose
The complex competency labeled practice-based learning and improvement (PBLI) by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) incorporates core knowledge in evidence-based medicine (EBM). The purpose of this study was to operationally define a “PBLI-EBM” domain for assessing resident physician competence.
Method
The authors used an iterative design process to first content analyze and map correspondences between ACGME and EBM literature sources. The project team, including content and measurement experts and residents/fellows, parsed, classified, and hierarchically organized embedded learning outcomes using a literature-supported cognitive taxonomy. A pool of 141 items was produced from the domain and assessment specifications. The PBLI-EBM domain and resulting items were content validated through formal reviews by a national panel of experts.
Results
The final domain represents overlapping PBLI and EBM cognitive dimensions measurable through written, multiple-choice assessments. It is organized as 4 subdomains of clinical action: Therapy, Prognosis, Diagnosis, and Harm. Four broad cognitive skill branches (Ask, Acquire, Appraise, and Apply) are subsumed under each subdomain. Each skill branch is defined by enabling skills that specify the cognitive processes, content, and conditions pertinent to demonstrable competence. Most items passed content validity screening criteria and were prepared for test form assembly and administration.
Conclusions
The operational definition of PBLI-EBM competence is based on a rigorously developed and validated domain and item pool, and substantially expands conventional understandings of EBM. The domain, assessment specifications, and procedures outlined may be used to design written assessments to tap important cognitive dimensions of the overall PBLI competency, as given by ACGME. For more comprehensive coverage of the PBLI competency, such instruments need to be complemented with performance assessments.
MD PhD and
MD
Abstract
Objective
Although there is an expectation for outcomes-oriented training in residency programs, the reality is that few guidelines and examples exist as to how to provide this type of education and training. We aimed to improve patient care outcomes in our pediatric residency program by using quality improvement (QI) methods, tools, and approaches.
Methods
A series of QI projects were implemented over a 3-year period in a pediatric residency program to improve patient care outcomes and teach the residents how to use QI methods, tools, and approaches. Residents experienced practice-based learning and systems-based assessment through group projects and review of their own patient outcomes. Resident QI experiences were reviewed quarterly by the program director and were a mandatory part of resident training portfolios.
Results
Using QI methodology, we were able to improve management of children with obesity, to achieve high compliance with the national patient safety goals, improve the pediatric hotline service, and implement better patient flow in resident continuity clinic.
Conclusion
Based on our experiences, we conclude that to successfully implement QI projects in residency programs, QI techniques must be formally taught, the opportunities for resident participation must be multiple and diverse, and QI outcomes should be incorporated in resident training and assessment so that they experience the benefits of the QI intervention. The lessons learned from our experiences, as well as the projects we describe, can be easily deployed and implemented in other residency programs.
MD,
BA,
MD,
JD,
JD, and
MD, MPH
Abstract
Background
Many low- and moderate-income individuals and families have at least one unmet legal need (for example, unsafe housing conditions, lack of access to food and/or income support, lack of access to health care), which, if left unaddressed, can have harmful consequences on health. Eighty unique medical-legal partnership programs, serving over 180 clinics and hospitals nationwide, seek to combine the strengths of medical and legal professionals to address patients' legal needs before they become crises. Each partnership is adapted to serve the specific needs of its own patient base.
Intervention
This article describes innovative, residency-based medical-legal partnership educational experiences in pediatrics, internal medicine, and family medicine at 3 different sites (Boston, Massachusetts; Newark, New Jersey; and Tucson, Arizona). This article addresses how these 3 programs have been designed to meet the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education's 6 competencies, along with suggested methods for evaluating the effectiveness of these programs. Training is a core component of medical-legal partnership, and most medical-legal partnerships have developed curricula for resident education in a variety of formats, including noon conferences, grand rounds, poverty simulations and day-long special sessions.
Discussion
Medical-legal partnerships combine the skill sets of medical professionals and lawyers to teach social determinants of health by training residents and attending physicians to identify and help address unmet legal needs. Medical-legal partnership doctors and lawyers treat health disparities and improve patient health and well-being by ensuring that public programs, regulations, and laws created to benefit health and improve access to health care are implemented and enforced.
Environment and Context
MD,
MS,
MD,
MS, and
MD, MS
Abstract
Background
Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education program requirements for internal medicine residency training include a longitudinal, continuity experience with a panel of patients.
Objective
To determine whether the number of resident clinics, the resident panel size, and the supervising attending physician affect patient continuity. To determine the number of clinics and the panel size necessary to maximize patient continuity.
Design
We used linear regression modeling to assess the effect of number of attended clinics, the panel size, and the attending physician on patient continuity.
Participants
Forty medicine residents in an academic medicine clinic.
Measurements
Percent patient continuity by the usual provider of care method.
Results
Unadjusted linear regression analysis showed that patient continuity increased 2.3% ± 0.7% for each additional clinic per 9 weeks or 0.4% ± 0.1% for each additional clinic per year (P = .003). Conversely, patient continuity decreased 0.7% ± 0.4% for every additional 10 patients in the panel (P = .04). When simultaneously controlling for number of clinics, panel size, and attending physician, multivariable linear regression analysis showed that patient continuity increased 3.3% ± 0.5% for each additional clinic per 9 weeks or 0.6% ± 0.1% for each additional clinic per year (P < .001). Conversely, patient continuity decreased 2.2% ± 0.4% for every additional 10 patients in the panel (P < .001). Thus, residents who actually attend at least 1 clinic per week with a panel size less than 106 patients can achieve 50% patient continuity. Interestingly, the attending physician accounted for most of the variability in patient continuity (51%).
Conclusions
Patient continuity for residents significantly increased with increasing numbers of clinics and decreasing panel size and was significantly influenced by the attending physician.
MD,
MD,
MD, and
MS, CLS
Abstract
The challenges inherent in medical education are multiple, including recognition of different learning styles among students, incorporation of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education competencies and outcomes measurement into the curriculum, and compliance with mandated duty hours along with a heightened awareness of patient safety required by our regulatory institutions. With the requirement that safety become an explicit part of the residency curriculum across all specialties, educators are charged with innovative ways of achieving this goal. The following commentary addresses this need and suggests an innovative approach to the traditional daily rounds' SOAP (subjective, objective, assessment, and plan) note to incorporate a second S for safety. The use of a SOAPS note elevates each encounter by integrating quality and error avoidance as a component of care. This method teaches the next generation of physicians the importance of patient safety as an integral part of every doctor-patient interaction.
MD, MACP
Editor's note: An earlier version of this commentary was published in the November 2003 ACGME Bulletin.
In the United States, medical and surgical specialties are determined by 2 important self-regulatory tools: accreditation of training programs by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and board certification of individual specialty physicians by a board of the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS). These programs evolved during the past 75 years to become arguably the most respected evidence in the world of professional qualifications and competence in the medical and surgical specialties. This commentary looks ahead to the new accreditation
ACGME News and Views
MD and
PhD, MBA
Abstract
Parsimony, and not industry, is the immediate cause of the increase of capital. Industry, indeed, provides the subject which parsimony accumulates. But whatever industry might acquire, if parsimony did not save and store up, the capital would never be the greater.
Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations, book 2, chapter 31
In 2003, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education implemented resident duty hour limits that included a weekly limit and limits on continuous hours. Recent recommendations for added reductions in resident duty hours have produced concern about concomitant reductions in future graduates' preparedness for independent practice. The current debate about resident hours largely does not consider whether all hours residents spend in the educational and clinical-care environment contribute meaningfully either to residents' learning or to effective patient care. This may distract the community from waste in the current clinical-education model. We propose that use of “lean production” and quality improvement methods may assist teaching institutions in attaining a deeper understanding of work flow and waste. These methods can be used to assign value to patient- and learner-centered activities and outputs and to optimize the competing and synergistic aspects of all desired outcomes to produce the care the Institute of Medicine recommends: safe, effective, efficient, patient-centered, timely, and equitable. Finally, engagement of senior clinical faculty in determining the culture of the care and education system will contribute to an advanced social-learning and care network.
PhD and
MS
Abstract
Background
The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) uses a 29-question Resident Survey for yearly residency program assessments. This article describes methodology for aggregating Resident Survey data into 5 discrete areas of program performance for use in the accreditation process. This article also describes methodology for setting thresholds that may assist Residency Review Committees in identifying programs with potential compliance problems.
Methods
A team of ACGME staff and Residency Review Committee chairpersons reviewed the survey for content and proposed thresholds (through a modified Angoff procedure) that would indicate problematic program functioning.
Results
Interrater agreement was high for the 5 content areas and for the threshold values (percentage of noncompliant residents), indicating that programs above these thresholds may warrant follow-up by the accrediting organization. Comparison of the Angoff procedure and the actual distribution of the data revealed that the Angoff thresholds were extremely similar to 1 standard deviation above the content area mean.
Conclusion
Data from the ACGME Resident Survey may be aggregated into internally consistent and consensually valid areas that may help Residency Review Committees make more targeted and specific judgments about program compliance.
PhD, MBA,
MD,
MD,
MD,
MD,
MD, and
Jr., MD
History
Long hours are a component of medical residency and a cultural symbol of a profession that requires hard work and dedication. The origins of residents' long work hours, along with the term residency, are found in a traditional model of clinical education as a generally brief period of intense training, during which responsibility for patients rested with the residents 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. By the early 21st century, this has given way to a multiyear experience that combines participation in patient care with new learning modalities in a vastly changed delivery system.
In
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Lauren BoeckermannMD, MPH,
Dennis MenjivarBS,
Emily E. HagnMD,
Melissa PreviteraMLIS,
Samuel H. CheshierMD, PhD,
Hilary C. McCraryMD, MPH, and
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Ariel G. VilidnitskyMD,
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Talia Robledo-GilMD, and
Leonard FeldmanMD, FACP, FAAP, MHM
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Joshua SmithMD,
Lorenzo ZaffiriMD,
Julie ClaryMD, MBA,
Tyler DavisMD, and
Gabriel T. BossletMD, MA
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Arghavan SallesMD, PhD,
Claudia M. MuellerPhD, MD, and
Geoffrey L. CohenPhD
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Daniel P. AlfordMD, MPH,
Brittany L. CarneyMS,
Belle Brett EDD,
Sharon J. ParishMD, and
Angela H. JacksonMD
Integrating a Resident-Driven Longitudinal Quality Improvement Curriculum Within an Ambulatory Block Schedule
Aleksey TentlerMD,
Mirela FeurdeanMD,
Steven KellerPhD, and
Neil KothariMD
Skills for Interviewing Adolescent Patients: Sustainability of Structured Feedback in Undergraduate Education on Performance in Residency
Nadim JoukhadarBSc,
Genna BourgetMD,
Sarah ManosMD,
Karen MannPhD,
Jill HatchettePhD, and
Kim BlakeMD
eISSN: 1949-8357
ISSN: 1949-8349
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