Recent Publications by CFE Educators

OBJECTIVE

Faculty teaching skills are critical for effective surgical education, however, which skills are most important to be taught in a faculty development program have not been well defined. The objective of this study was to identify priorities for faculty development as perceived by surgical educators.

DESIGN

We used a modified Delphi methodology to assess faculty perceptions of the value of faculty development activities, best learning modalities, as well as barriers and priorities for faculty development. An expert panel developed the initial survey and distributed it to the membership of the Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Responses were reviewed by the expert panel and condensed to 3 key questions that were redistributed to the survey participants for final ranking.

PARTICIPANTS

Seven experts reviewed responses to 8 questions by 110 participants. 35 participants determined the final ranking responses to 3 key questions.

RESULTS

The top three priorities for faculty development were: 1) Resident assessment/evaluation and feedback 2) Coaching for faculty teaching, and 3) Improving intraoperative teaching skills. The top 3 learning modalities were: 1) Coaching 2) Interactive small group sessions, and 3) Video-based education. Barriers to implementing faculty development included time limitations, clinical workload, faculty interest, and financial support.

CONCLUSIONS

Faculty development programs should focus on resident assessment methods, intraoperative and general faculty teaching skills using a combination of coaching, small group didactic and video-based education. Concerted efforts to recognize and financially reward the value of teaching and faculty development is required to support these endeavors and improve the learning environment for both residents and faculty.

OBJECTIVE

The current shortage of surgeons in rural and smaller communities is predicted to get worse. In this study, we solicited practicing rural surgeons' opinions about the skill set needed in a rural practice in order to inform curriculum development for general surgery residents who intend to embark on rural careers.

DESIGN

We developed an online survey consisting of demographic questions and closed- and open-ended questions regarding current practice environment and scope of practice. Priorities for training were identified using descriptive analyses of both the quantitative and qualitative data, including frequency of responses regarding specific skills training.

PARTICIPANTS

We surveyed currently practicing surgeons who subscribe to the American College of Surgeons Rural Surgery listserv.

RESULTS

237 surgeons from 49 states and 1 Canadian territory responded; 60% of participants had been in practice for 20 or more years, and 70% did not pursue subspecialty training. Valuable skills identified for rural surgeons were: endoscopy, advanced laparoscopy, and basic non-general surgery subspecialty procedures. Regardless of years of practice or setting, respondents felt that rural experience during residency was highly valuable (82%) and overwhelmingly supported training future rural surgeons at residency programs with broad general surgery experiences and high case volumes with no or few fellows.

CONCLUSIONS

Practicing rural surgeons identify endoscopy, basic non-general surgery subspecialty procedures, and advanced laparoscopy as key components of their current practice. These skills may not be strongly emphasized in traditional general surgery training programs. Surgical educators should focus on developing curricula that emphasize these areas in order to prepare residents for careers in rural surgery.

OBJECTIVE

To explore interest, feasibility, perceived effectiveness, and acceptability of a standardized, national physiology curriculum for neonatal-perinatal medicine (NPM) fellows using online videos for knowledge acquisition paired with flipped classrooms (FCs) for knowledge application.

STUDY DESIGN

Two educational programs pairing online videos with FCs were developed and peer-reviewed. These programs were piloted at five institutions. Fellows completed surveys, and fellows and educators participated in focus groups after their FC experiences.

RESULTS

Thirty-five fellows responded to the survey. Forty-one fellows and six educators participated in focus groups. Fellows and educators preferred online videos paired with FCs over didactic teaching and perceived them to be effective for knowledge acquisition and application.

CONCLUSION

Fellows and educators preferred FC learning over traditional didactics and reported that FCs facilitated creation of a learning community, fostering active learning. The favorable response toward this pilot project and the feasibility of its use supports further development of a standardized NPM physiology curriculum for fellowship training.

Background

Preoperative opioid use causes increased pain and opioid requirements after total joint arthroplasty (TJA), but the effect of depression on this relationship is not well defined.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective review of primary TJA patients using an institutional database. Demographic variables, inpatient opioid requirements, and discharge prescription quantities were collected and compared between patients with and without a prior diagnosis of depression in both the prior opioid-using and nonusing cohorts.

Results

Four hundred and three patients were analyzed between August 1, 2016, and July 31, 2017. Among prior opioid users, patients with depression experienced higher inpatient pain levels (4 vs 3;  = .001), required more inpatient opioids (117 oral morphine equivalents [OMEs] vs 70 OMEs;  = .022), were prescribed more opioids at discharge (1163 OMEs vs 750 OMEs;  = .02), and required more long-term opioid refills (57.7% vs 15.4%; .001) than patients without depression. However, depression was not associated with increased pain, opioid requirements, prescription quantities, or refill rates among opioid-naive patients.

Conclusions

Depression is not associated with increased pain or opioid requirements among opioid-naive patients after TJA but is associated with significantly higher pain and opioid requirements among patients who use opioids preoperatively. The interaction of these variables may highlight a target for preoperative counseling and risk modification in the arthroplasty population.

OBJECTIVES

This study evaluates the 5-year clinical outcomes of transcatheter mitral valve (MV) repair with the MitraClip device in patients at high risk for MV surgery treated in the Endovascular Valve Edge-to-Edge Repair (EVEREST) II High Risk Study (HRS).

METHODS

Patients with mitral regurgitation (MR) 3+ or 4+ and predicted surgical mortality risk ≥12% or surgeon assessment based on prespecified high-risk factors were enrolled. Patients prospectively consented to 5 years of follow-up.

RESULTS

At 5 years, clinical follow-up was achieved in 90% of 78 enrolled patients. The rate of postprocedural adverse events declined from 30 days to 1 year follow-up and was stable thereafter through 5 years. Two patients (2.6%) developed mitral stenosis (MS). Two patients underwent MV surgery, including one due to MS. A total of 42 deaths were reported through 5 years. Effectiveness measures at 5 years showed reductions in MR severity to ≤2+ in 75% of patients (p=0.0107), left ventricular (LV) end-diastolic volume (-38.2 mL; 95% CI -55.0 to -21.4; p0.0001) and LV end-systolic volume (-14.6 mL; 95% CI -27.7 to -1.5; p=0.0303) compared with baseline. The New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class improved from baseline to 5 years (p0.005), and septal-lateral annular dimensions remained stable with no indication of mitral annular dilation through 5 years.

CONCLUSIONS

The EVEREST II HRS demonstrated long-term safety and efficacy of MitraClip in high-surgical-risk patients through 5 years. The observed mortality was most likely a consequence of the advanced age and comorbidity profile of the enrolled patients, while improvements in NYHA class in surviving patients were durable through long-term follow-up.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

NCT01940120.

OBJECTIVE

Interfacility neurosurgical transfers to tertiary care centers are driven by a number of variables, including lack of on-site coverage, limited available technology, insurance factors, and patient preference. The authors sought to assess the timing and necessity of surgery and compared transfers to their institution from emergency departments (ED) and inpatient units at other hospitals.

METHODS

Adult neurosurgical patients who were transferred to a single tertiary care center were analyzed over 12 months. Patients with traumatic injuries or those referred from skilled nursing facilities or rehabilitation centers were excluded.

RESULTS

A total of 504 transferred patients were included, with mean age 55 years (range 19-92 years); 53% of patients were women. Points of origin were ED in 54% cases and inpatient hospital unit in 46%, with a mean distance traveled for most patients of 119 miles. Broad diagnosis categories included brain tumors (n = 142, 28%), vascular lesions, including spontaneous and hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage (n = 143, 28%), spinal lesions (n = 126, 25%), hydrocephalus (n = 45, 9%), wound complications (n = 29, 6%), and others (n = 19, 4%). Patients transferred from inpatient units had higher rates of surgical intervention (75% vs 57%, p 0.001), whereas patients transferred from the ED had higher rates of urgent surgery (20% vs 8%, p 0.001) and shorter mean time to surgery (3 vs 5 days, p 0.001). Misdiagnosis rates were higher among ED referrals (11% vs 4%, p = 0.008). Across the same timeframe, patients undergoing elective admission (n = 1986) or admission from the authors' own ED (n = 248) had significantly shorter lengths of stay (p 0.001) and ICU days (p 0.001) than transferred patients, as well as a significantly lower total cost ($44,412, $46,163, and $72,175, respectively; p 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

The authors present their 12-month experience from a single tertiary care center without Level I trauma designation. In this cohort, 65% of patients required surgery, but the rates were higher among inpatient referrals, and misdiagnosis rates were higher among ED transfers. These data suggest that admitting nonemergency patients to local hospitals may improve diagnostic accuracy of patients requiring urgent care, more precisely identify patients in need of transfer, and reduce costs. Referring facilities may lack necessary resources or expertise, and the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) obligates tertiary care centers to accept these patients under those circumstances. Telemedicine and integration of electronic medical records may help guide referring hospitals to pursue additional workup, which may eliminate the need for unnecessary transfer and provide additional cost savings.

OBJECTIVE

To define how the learning curve for success in ultrasound-guided percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) is impacted by body mass index (BMI). Previous research has shown ultrasound-guided PCNL to be an effective method of nephrolithiasis treatment comparable to fluoroscopy-guided PCNL. A common concern for the ultrasound-guided approach is potential imaging difficulty in the obese patient population.

METHODS

A prospective cohort study of consecutive patients undergoing PCNL with ultrasound guidance for renal tract access was performed. Clinical data collected included success in gaining renal access with ultrasound guidance, patient BMI, and clinical outcomes over time. Nonparametric LOWESS regression modeling was performed in R using locally weighted scatterplot smoother (R version 3.3.3) for gradations of patients by BMI group (30, 30-40, and >40).

RESULTS

A total of 150 cases were examined. Case number and BMI were evaluated as continuous variables. Multivariate logistic regression revealed that BMI (P = .010; OR 0.93) and case number (P.001; OR 1.03) were significantly correlated with ultrasound success. Sex, age, hydronephrosis, stone type, puncture location, and stone size did not influence success at obtaining ultrasound-only access in a statistically significant fashion. LOWESS regression modeling of the relationship between case number and renal access success depicts that the curve representative of the BMI >40 group is downward and right-shifted relative to the other two groups.

CONCLUSION

The learning curve for successful ultrasound-guided PCNL is impacted by patient's BMI as well as case number. Increasing BMI makes access more challenging when performing ultrasound-guided PCNL.

BACKGROUND

Competency-based education is essential to prepare future nurse scientists to compete in the world of data-driven science. Yet, few schools of nursing have developed core competencies that guide quantitative research instruction. We described development of new competency-based curriculum in quantitative research for doctor of philosophy (PhD) nursing students.

METHOD

We assessed quantitative research methods curricula from among top National Institutes of Health-ranked research-intensive Schools of Nursing. At the University of California, San Francisco School of Nursing, we administered a survey to PhD students and alumni, and interviewed program faculty about current quantitative courses and perceived needs. A committee of PhD faculty framed competencies.

RESULTS

Core competencies for quantitative methods training were developed. Faculty modified courses to align with core competencies. This allowed an outcome-based approach to design, implement, and evaluate coursework.

CONCLUSION

This effort at generating core quantitative research skills competencies could be useful for other nursing schools interested in redesigning PhD training programs. [J Nurs Educ. 2018;57(8):483-488.].