Advanced Training and Job Satisfaction Among Recent Canadian Plastic Surgery Graduates.

BACKGROUND: In order to increase one's competitiveness in the current job market, Canadian plastic surgery graduates may complete additional degrees and multiple fellowships. The authors sought to determine the impact of this additional training on the practice profile of recent graduates and determine the current state of job satisfaction among this group. METHODS: An anonymous cross-sectional online survey was created and sent to all 250 graduates of Canadian plastic surgery residencies from 2005 to 2015. Demographics were collected and questions grouped into clinical, teaching, research, and administrative components. Questions pertaining to job satisfaction were also included. RESULTS: The response rate to the survey was 39%. Sixty-nine (71%) respondents had permanent attending positions at the time of survey completion, while the remaining 28 respondents did not. Among those with permanent positions, 59 (86%) completed at least one fellowship and 30 (43%) have an advanced degree. Of those who did fellowship training, 76% practice primarily in their area of subspecialty. Having an advanced degree showed a trend to a higher percentage of practice dedicated to research (5.6% vs 1.9%; P = .074) and more publications per year were seen among this group (1.31 vs 0.30; P = .028). Eighty-six percent of respondents are satisfied with their current attending position. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of recent Canadian plastic surgery graduates are undergoing fellowship training and are practicing primarily in their fields of subspecialty training. Having a postgraduate degree was associated with a higher number of publications per year as an attending surgeon. Job satisfaction is high among recent graduates.

HISTORIQUE: Afin d'accroître leur compétitivité sur le marché du travail, les diplômés canadiens en chirurgie plastique peuvent obtenir d'autres diplômes et de multiples postdoctorats. Les auteurs ont cherché à établir les retombées de cette formation supplémentaire sur le profil de pratique des récents diplômés ainsi que la satisfaction au travail des membres de ce groupe. MÉTHODOLOGIE: Les 250 diplômés d'une résidence en chirurgie plastique au Canada entre 2005 et 2015 ont reçu un sondage transversal anonyme en ligne. Les chercheurs ont recueilli les données démographiques et ont regroupé les questions dans les volets de la clinique, de l'enseignement, de la recherche et de l'administration. Il y avait également des questions sur la satisfaction au travail. RÉSULTATS: Le taux de réponse au sondage s'élevait à 39 %. Soixante-neuf répondants (71 %) occupaient un poste permanent au moment du sondage, contrairement aux 28 autres. Chez ceux qui occupaient un poste permanent, 59 (86 %) avaient effectué au moins un postdoctorat et 30 (43 %) possédaient un diplôme avancé. Parmi ceux qui avaient fait un postdoctorat, 76 % exerçaient surtout dans leur domaine de surspécialité. Un diplôme avancé s'associait à une tendance vers un pourcentage plus élevé de pratiques vouées à la recherche (5.6 % par rapport à 1.9 %; P = .074), qui suscitaient plus de publications annuelles (1.31 par rapport à 0.30; P = .028). Quatre-vingt-six pour cent des répondants étaient satisfaits de leur poste. CONCLUSIONS: La majorité des récents diplômés en chirurgie plastique au Canada étudient au postdoctorat et exercent surtout dans leur domaine de surspécialité. Le postdoctorat s'associait à un plus grand nombre de publications par année de la part des chirurgiens. La satisfaction au travail était élevée chez les récents diplômés.

Residues contributing to the Na(+)-binding pocket of the SLC24 Na(+)/Ca(2+)-K(+) Exchanger NCKX2.

Na(+)/Ca(2+)-K(+) exchangers (NCKX; gene family SLC24) are plasma membrane Ca(2+) transporters that mediate the extrusion of one Ca(2+) ion and one K(+) ion in exchange for four Na(+) ions. NCKX is modeled to have two sets of five transmembrane segments separated by a large cytosolic loop; within each set of transmembrane segments are regions of internal symmetry termed alpha(1) and alpha(2) repeats. The central residues that are important for Ca(2+) and K(+) liganding and transport have been identified in NCKX2, and they comprise three central acidic residues, Glu(188) in alpha(1) and Asp(548) and Asp(575) in alpha(2), as well as Ser/Thr residues one-helical turn away from these residues. In this study, we have scanned through more than 100 single-residue substitutions of NCKX2 for shifts in Na(+) affinity using a fluorescence assay to monitor changes in free Ca(2+) in HEK293 cells treated with gramicidin to control intracellular Na(+). We have identified 31 residues that, when substituted, result in shifts in Na(+) affinity, either toward higher or lower K(m) values when compared with wild type NCKX2 (K(m) for Na(+) 58 mm). These residues include the central acidic residues Glu(188), Asp(548), and Asp(575), and their neighboring residues in alpha(1) and alpha(2), in addition to a number of newly investigated residues in transmembrane segment 3. Our results relate the identification of residues important for Na(+) transport in this study to those previously identified as important in the counter-transport of Ca(2+) and K(+), lending support to the alternating access model of transmembrane transport.

A real-time gyroscopic system for three-dimensional measurement of lumbar spine motion.

This paper describes a new method of measuring the three-dimensional movements of the lumbar spine in real time. The measurement system consisted of solid-state gyroscopes which were attached to the trunk. They measured the angular rates of rotations in three dimensions, which were then integrated to obtain the orientation. The sensors contained gravitometers and magnetometers which provided additional information for eliminating any drift of the gyroscopes. The reliability of the data provided by the gyroscopic system was examined in a group of 19 young healthy subjects. The similarity of the movement-time curves obtained in three repeated measurements was assessed by the coefficient of multiple correlation. The coefficients were found to be high, ranging from 0.972 to 0.991. The reliability of the data was slightly lower for measuring axial rotation. The device did not only quantify the kinematic patterns in the primary plane of movements, but also the accompanying movements in the other planes. Flexion and extension was found to be mainly confined to the sagittal plane, whereas lateral bending and axial rotation always accompanied each other. It was concluded that the inertial tracking device would be a useful tool for clinical measurement as well as biomechanical investigations.