Changes in Thoracic Surgery Experience During General Surgery Residency: A Review of the Case Logs From the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education

Societal (1), technological, organizational (2), and educational developments during the past ten years havebrought about increasing pressures for change in the graduate medical education of cardiac and thoracicsurgeons (3). These changes effectively lengthened their training to eight years and created a double standardfor the education of a thoracic surgeon. A task force mandated by the Royal College of Physicians andSurgeons of Canada nucleus committees in both cardiac and thoracic surgery, with the support of theCanadian Society of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeons, addressed these issues and made the followingrecommendations: cardiac surgery and thoracic surgery should each become a primary specialty with its ownnucleus committee. Each specialty would require six years of training, with the possibility of obtainingcertification in both specialties after an additional eighteen months of training. Each specialty could also beentered after the completion of full training in general surgery. In addition, the task force urged thedevelopment of a curriculum to guide educational objectives in each specialty. These changes promise tocreate a flexible, shorter, and more focused program for cardiac and thoracic surgeons in both university andcommunity settings.

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What is the Value of a Burn Surgery Rotation in Surgical Residency?

The American Surgeon ◽

10.1177/000313481908501222 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 85 (12) ◽

pp. 1314-1317

Author(s):

Laura S. Johnson ◽

Taryn E. Travis ◽

Jeffrey W. Shupp

Keyword(s):

Medical Education ◽

Critical Care ◽

Graduate Medical Education ◽

General Surgery ◽

High Volume ◽

Graduate Medical ◽

Surgical Case ◽

Time Period ◽

Case Logs ◽

Critical Care Patients

Declining case volumes on trauma rotations and early specialization of traditional surgical rotations have limited the service lines on which general surgery residents can obtain critical operative and management experience. Meanwhile, a significant portion of residents have no exposure to a burn rotation during their training. A burn rotation may address both of these issues in a meaningful way. Surgical case volumes and burn ICU patient volume were queried for an urban regional verified burn referral center. General surgery program resident case logs were queried for procedures performed during a burn rotation during that same time period. Over a four-year time period, three burn surgeons performed a total of 2374 procedures on burn and wound service patients. In the burn ICU over that same time period, 419 individual critical care patients were managed. Twenty-seven general surgery program residents logged 632 major operations and 67 critical care patients; more than 50 per cent of cases performed were not captured by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education case log system. A high volume burn service can adequately provide surgical and critical care exposure to junior surgical residents. Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education surgical case logs may not fully represent the full scope of exposure sustained on a high-volume burn service.

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Effect of the 80-Hour Work Week on Cases Performed by General Surgery Residents

The American Surgeon ◽

10.1177/000313480507100703 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 71 (7) ◽

pp. 552-556 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Shannon Tierney Mcelearney ◽

Alison R. Saalwachter ◽

Traci L. Hedrick ◽

Timothy L. Pruett ◽

Hilary A. Sanfey ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Medical Education ◽

Operating Room ◽

Graduate Medical Education ◽

Surgical Training ◽

General Surgery ◽

Work Hours ◽

University Hospital ◽

Training Experience ◽

Accreditation Council ◽

Graduate Medical

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) implemented mandatory work week hours restrictions in 2003. Due to the traditionally long hours in general surgery, the effect of restrictions on surgical training and case numbers was a matter of concern. Data was compiled retrospectively from ACGME logs and operating room (OR) records at a university hospital for 2002 and 2003. Work week restrictions began in January 2003. This data was reviewed to determine resident case numbers, both in whole and by postgraduate year (PGY). Mean case numbers per resident-month in 2002 were 8.8 ± 8.2 for PGY1s, 16.2 ± 15.7 for PGY2s, 31.4 ± 12.9 for PGY3s, 31.5 ± 17.6 for PGY4s, and 31.5 ± 17.6 for PGY5s. In 2003, they were 8.8 ± 5.2 for PGY1s, 16.6 ± 13.9 for PGY2s, 27.8 ± 12.5 for PGY3s, 38.2 ± 18.8 for PGY4s, and 26.1 ± 9.6 for PGY5s. PGY1s, PGY2s, PGY3s, PGY4s, or all classes were not statistically different. PGY5s did have statistically fewer cases in 2003 ( P = 0.03). PGY5s did have statistically fewer cases after the work-hours restriction, which likely represented shifting of postcall afternoon cases to other residents. Comparing other classes and all PGYs, case numbers were not statistically different. Operative training experience does not appear to be hindered by the 80-hour work week.

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Scholarly Output by Army General Surgery Residents

Military Medicine ◽

10.1093/milmed/usz192 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 185 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 571-574

Author(s):

Timothy P Plackett ◽

Ronald A Gagliano ◽

Reed B Kuehn ◽

Peter J Deveaux ◽

Jason M Seery

Keyword(s):

Medical Education ◽

Graduate Medical Education ◽

General Surgery ◽

Scholarly Activity ◽

First Year ◽

General Surgery Residency ◽

Graduate Medical ◽

Scholarly Output ◽

The Mean ◽

Number Of Publications

Abstract Introduction To characterize and compare the scholarly activity of applicants to Army First Year Graduate Medical Education (FYGME) general surgery positions over the course of a residency. Methods All applicants for the 2011–2012 Army FYGME positions in general surgery were included. Applications were used to obtain demographics and peer-reviewed publications. Publications were verified using PubMed and Google Scholar. Applicants were tracked for acceptance to a FYGME position, graduation from a general surgery program, and future publications. Comparisons were made between selectees and non-selectees. Results There were 46 applicants for 22 positions. Seven of the selectees (32%) had prior publications versus three non-selectees (12%; p < 0.109). Eighteen of the selectees went on to complete a general surgery residency by 2017. Of those who completed a general surgery residency, 16 (89%) have at least one publication with the mean number of publications of 4.0 versus 10 (43%), and of those not selected had at least one publication and the mean number of publications was 0.7 (p < 0.05). Conclusions The majority of applications for general surgery residencies have no prior research publications. However, after 6 years, graduates of a general surgery residency have significantly published out those not selected for training.

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