Assessing Content of Accredited Colon and Rectal Surgery Fellowship Websites: Is there Adequate Information for Applicants?

Electronic information is a vital resource used by fellowship applicants. This study aimed to assess the completeness of colon and rectal surgery (CRS) fellowship program online information. Program information on the Association of Program Directors for Colon and Rectal Surgery (APDCRS) website as well as each institutional website was evaluated based on templated criteria. Sixty-eight accredited fellowship programs were identified. Six (9%) programs had complete profiles on the APDCRS platform, with an average of 3.5 details completed per program. Sixty-two (91%) websites were easily accessible. None of these contained all 28 criteria assessed and 47 (69%) contained less than half of assessed content. The most common data point was fellowship program description (96%), while board pass rate (1%) was the least common. Most CRS fellowship websites were grossly incomplete. Electronically available information is vital to fellowship applicants, and programs should try to provide easily accessible information about their program.

Download Full-text

An Update of Foot and Ankle Fellowship Website Content and Accessibility

Foot & Ankle Orthopaedics ◽

10.1177/2473011420s00286 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 5 (4) ◽

pp. 2473011420S0028

Author(s):

Ansab M. Khwaja ◽

Peter Z. Du ◽

Nathan Sherman ◽

Lisa Truchan

Keyword(s):

Foot And Ankle ◽

Fellowship Program ◽

Educational Content ◽

Fellowship Programs ◽

Program Content ◽

American Orthopaedic ◽

Program Description ◽

Website Content ◽

Google Search ◽

Search Information

Category: Other; Ankle Introduction/Purpose: The internet is one of the first resources for prospective fellowship applicants, and a previous study evaluated the presence of information present on foot and ankle websites. This study aims to evaluate the accessibility provided via the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) websites and individual websites. Methods: The AOFAS website was used to identify the list of foot and ankle fellowship programs. The database information was used to review links to fellowship program websites and corroborate it with accessibility through a Google search. Information from fellowship program websites and the AOFAS was used to analyze the presence of previously described recruitment and educational content, and this analysis was compared to previously reported metrics. Results: Forty-eight orthopaedic foot and ankle fellowship programs were identified. The AOFAS database featured direct links to 19 (40%) fellowship websites with the Google search providing direct links to 35 (73%) websites. From the available program websites, the most common recruitment content was salary/benefits, faculty listing, program contact information (48, 100%), and program description (47, 98%). The most common educational content was presence of research component (44, 92%) and description of rotations/curriculum (43, 90%). Foot and ankle fellowship information markedly improved in domains of salary/benefits, program description, faculty listing meetings/courses, rotations/curriculum, and had less information in the domains of office/clinic information and operative experience. Conclusion: There continues to be substantial variability between foot and ankle fellowship websites and the AOFAS website regarding program content and descriptions. Some information is more readily available, but other domains have less information now than in previously reported research.

Download Full-text

Analysis of Performance Trends from 2010–2019 on the American Board of Internal Medicine Nephrology Certifying Exam

Journal of the American Society of Nephrology ◽

10.1681/asn.2021020160 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 32 (11) ◽

pp. 2714-2723

Author(s):

Jeffrey S. Berns ◽

Weifeng Weng ◽

Bernard G. Jaar ◽

Rebecca S. Lipner ◽

Bradley G. Brossman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Internal Medicine ◽

International Medical Graduate ◽

Primary Outcome Measure ◽

Pass Rate ◽

Medical Graduate ◽

Exam Performance ◽

Pass Rates ◽

Fellowship Program ◽

Content Type ◽

Fellowship Programs

BackgroundThe pass rate on the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) nephrology certifying exam has declined and is among the lowest of all internal medicine (IM) subspecialties. In recent years, there have also been fewer applicants for the nephrology fellowship match.MethodsThis retrospective observational study assessed how changes between 2010 and 2019 in characteristics of 4094 graduates of US ACGME-accredited nephrology fellowship programs taking the ABIM nephrology certifying exam for the first time, and how characteristics of their fellowship programs were associated with exam performance. The primary outcome measure was performance on the nephrology certifying exam. Fellowship program pass rates over the decade were also studied.ResultsLower IM certifying exam score, older age, female sex, international medical graduate (IMG) status, and having trained at a smaller nephrology fellowship program were associated with poorer nephrology certifying exam performance. The mean IM certifying exam percentile score among those who subsequently took the nephrology certifying exam decreased from 56.7 (SD, 27.9) to 46.1 (SD, 28.7) from 2010 to 2019. When examining individuals with comparable IM certifying exam performance, IMGs performed less well than United States medical graduates (USMGs) on the nephrology certifying exam. In 2019, only 57% of nephrology fellowship programs had aggregate 3-year certifying exam pass rates ≥80% among their graduates.ConclusionsChanges in IM certifying exam performance, certain trainee demographics, and poorer performance among those from smaller fellowship programs explain much of the decline in nephrology certifying exam performance. IM certifying exam performance was the dominant determinant.

Download Full-text

Factors Associated with Colon and Rectal Surgery Fellowship Program Ranking Before and After the COVID-19 Pandemic

Diseases of the Colon & Rectum ◽

10.1097/dcr.0000000000002193 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol Publish Ahead of Print ◽

Author(s):

Paolo Goffredo ◽

Mark Y. Sun ◽

Christine C. Jensen ◽

Judith L. Trudel ◽

Robert D. Madoff ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Rectal Surgery ◽

Colon And Rectal Surgery ◽

Fellowship Program ◽

Factors Associated ◽

Before And After

Download Full-text

Administrative data use in colon and rectal surgery

Seminars in Colon and Rectal Surgery ◽

10.1053/scrs.2003.127417 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

pp. 26-32 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Arden M. Morris

Keyword(s):

Administrative Data ◽

Data Use ◽

Rectal Surgery ◽

Colon And Rectal Surgery

Download Full-text

Neutrophil/lymphocyte Ratio after Flow Citometry Periferic Blood Cell Detection - Predictive Marker of Anastomotic Fistula in Colorectal Cancer Surgery

Revista de Chimie ◽

10.37358/rc.20.6.8195 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 71 (6) ◽

pp. 295-306

Author(s):

Dumitru Radulescu ◽

Vlad Dumitru Baleanu ◽

Andrei Nicolaescu ◽

Marius Lazar ◽

Marius Bica ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Colorectal Cancer ◽

Cancer Patients ◽

Rectal Surgery ◽

Predictive Marker ◽

Fistula Formation ◽

Cell Detection ◽

Colon And Rectal Surgery ◽

Optimal Value ◽

Anastomotic Fistula ◽

Colorectal Cancer Patients

Anastomotic fistula is a dreadful complication of colon and rectal surgery that can put life into danger, being common after colorectal surgery. The preoperative lymphocyte neutrophil ratio (NLR) is known as a prognostic marker for colorectal cancer patients. The existence of a predictive marker of anastomotic fistula in colorectal cancer patients is not fully undestood, so we proposed to investigate the utility of preoperative NLR as a predictor of anastomotic fistula formation. This study the Neutrophils and lymphocytes were detected from periferic blood using flow citometry. We retrospectively evaluated 161 patients with colorectal cancer, who were treated curatively, in which at least one anastomosis was performed, comparing NLR values between patients who had fistula and those with normal healing, then comparing the group with low NLR, with the group with increased NLR, after finding the optimal value of NLR using the ROC curve.The optimal value of the NLR after establishing the cutoff value was 3.07. Between the low NLR group (n=134) and the high NLR group (n=27), were observed statistically significant differences in fistula (p [0.001) and death (p=0.001). The odds ratio for failure in the group with increased NLR was 10.37, which means that patients with NLR]3.54 have a chance of developing anastomotic fistula greater than 10.37 comparable to patients with lower NLR. We suggest the preoperative use of NLR can be used as a predictive marker of anastomotic fistula than can increase the quality of preoperative preparation and therefore the establishment of the optimal surgical technique that can lead to anastomotic fistula risk decrease.

Download Full-text