Development of a taxonomy of unprofessional behavior in clinical learning environments using learner-generated critical incidents.

PURPOSE: Few studies have examined medical residents' and fellows' (trainees) direct experience of unprofessional behavior in clinical learning environments (CLE). The purpose of this study was to create a taxonomy of unprofessional behavior in CLEs using critical incidents gathered from trainees. METHOD: In step 1 (data collection), the authors collected 382 critical incidents from trainees at more than a dozen CLEs over a six-year period (2013-2019). In step 2 (model generation), nine subject matter experts (SMEs) sorted the incidents into homogenous clusters and this structure was tested with principal components analysis (PCA). In step 3 (model evaluation), two new groups of SMEs each re-sorted half of the incidents into the PCA-derived categories. RESULTS: A 13-component solution accounted for 62.46% of the variance in the critical incidents collected. The SMEs who re-sorted the critical incidents demonstrated good agreement with each other and with the 13-component PCA solution. The resulting taxonomy included 13 dimensions, with 48.7% of behaviors focused on displays of aggression or discriminatory conduct. CONCLUSIONS: Critical incident methodology can provide unique insights into the dimensionality of unprofessional behavior in the CLE. Future research should leverage the taxonomy created to inform professionalism assessment development in the CLE.

Improving Our Ability to Predict Resident Applicant Performance: Validity Evidence for a Situational Judgment Test.

Construct: We investigated whether a situational judgment test (SJT) designed to measure professionalism in physicians predicts residents' performance on (a) Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) competencies and (b) a multisource professionalism assessment (MPA). Background: There is a consensus regarding the importance of assessing professionalism and interpersonal and communication skills in medical students, residents, and practicing physicians. Nonetheless, these noncognitive competencies are not well measured during medical education selection processes. One promising method for measuring these noncognitive competencies is the SJT. In a typical SJT, respondents are presented with written or video-based scenarios and asked to make choices from a set of alternative courses of action. Interpersonally oriented SJTs are commonly used for selection to medical schools in the United Kingdom and Belgium and for postgraduate selection of trainees to medical practice in Belgium, Singapore, Canada, and Australia. However, despite international evidence suggesting that SJTs are useful predictors of in-training performance, end-of-training performance, supervisory ratings of performance, and clinical skills licensing objective structured clinical examinations, the use of interpersonally oriented SJTs in residency settings in the United States has been infrequently investigated. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether residents' performance on an SJT designed to measure professionalism-related competencies-conscientiousness, integrity, accountability, aspiring to excellence, teamwork, stress tolerance, and patient-centered care-predicts both their current and future performance as residents on two important but conceptually distinct criteria: ACGME competencies and the MPA. Approach: We developed an SJT to measure seven dimensions of professionalism. During calendar year 2017, 21 residency programs from 2 institutions administered the SJT. We conducted analyses to determine the validity of SJT and USMLE scores in predicting milestone performance in ACGME core competency domains and the MPA in June 2017 and 3 months later in September 2017 for the MPA and 1 year later, in June 2018, for ACGME domains. Results: At both periods, the SJT score predicted overall ACGME milestone performance (r = .13 and .17, respectively; p < .05) and MPA performance (r = .19 and .21, respectively; p < .05). In addition, the SJT predicted ACGME patient care, systems-based practice, practice-based learning and improvement, interpersonal and communication skills, and professionalism competencies (r = .16, .15, .15, .17, and .16, respectively; p < .05) 1 year later. The SJT score contributed incremental validity over USMLE scores in predicting overall ACGME milestone performance (ΔR = .07) 1 year later and MPA performance (ΔR = .05) 3 months later. Conclusions: SJTs show promise as a method for assessing noncognitive attributes in residency program applicants. The SJT's incremental validity to the USMLE series in this study underscores the importance of moving beyond these standardized tests to a more holistic review of candidates that includes both cognitive and noncognitive measures.

Comparing Hemorrhage in Human Physiology Simulation Tools: How They Compare With Expected Human Physiology and Each Other.

INTRODUCTION: Several different whole-body physiology simulation tools (PST) using modeling techniques are now available with potential use for healthcare simulation, but these novel technologies lack objective analysis from an independent organization. METHODS: We identified BioGears, HumMod, and Muse as 3 PSTs that met our requirements for testing. We ran mild, moderate, and severe hemorrhage scenarios on each PST and collected outputs for comparison with each other and published human physiology data. RESULTS: All PSTs tested followed the expected tachycardic and hypotensive response to hemorrhage for all levels of severity with variable qualitative patterns. Complete data for analysis were not available in all PSTs for urine output, stroke volume, blood volume, hemoglobin, and serum epinephrine concentration, but the partial findings are discussed in detail. We determined the predicted time to reach hemorrhage shock based on the hemorrhage guidelines and compared this with time to cardiovascular collapse from each PST. Overall, the differences from known human physiology were much larger than expected before testing and trends show HumMod with the smallest difference for severe (-6.25%) and moderate (-1.42%) and Muse with the smallest difference for mild hemorrhage (27.9%). BioGears demonstrated the largest differences in all classifications of severity. CONCLUSIONS: Our analysis of currently available whole-body PSTs provides insight into the novel, evolving field. We hope our efforts shed light to a wider audience to the exciting developments and uses of mathematical modeling for whole-body simulation and the potential for integration into healthcare simulation for medical education.

Management and Anesthetic Considerations for Patients With Anomalous Aortic Origin of a Coronary Artery.

The term "coronary artery anomalies" encompasses a large and heterogeneous group of disorders that may affect origin, intrinsic anatomy, course, location, and termination of the coronary arteries. With these different anatomies, presentation, symptoms, and outcomes are heterogeneous as well. While significant efforts are directed toward improving diagnosis and risk-stratification, best evidence-guided practices remain in evolution. Data about anesthetic management of patients with coronary anomalies are lacking as well. This review aims to provide the anesthesiologist with a better understanding of an important subgroup of coronary artery anomalies: anomalous aortic origin of a coronary artery. We will discuss classification, pathophysiology, incidence, evaluation, management, and anesthetic implications of this potentially fatal disease group.

Exploring Validation and Verification: How they Different and What They Mean to Healthcare Simulation.

STATEMENT: The healthcare simulation (HCS) community recognizes the importance of quality management because many novel simulation devices and techniques include some sort of description of how they tested and assured their simulation's quality. Verification and validation play a key role in quality management; however, literature published on HCS has many different interpretations of what these terms mean and how to accomplish them. The varied use of these terms leads to varied interpretations of how verification process is different from validation process. We set out to explore the concepts of verification and validation in this article by reviewing current psychometric science description of the concepts and exploring how other communities relevant to HCS, such as medical device manufacturing, aviation simulation, and the fields of software and engineering, which are building blocks of technology-enhanced HCS, use the terms, with the focus of trying to clarify the process of verification. We also review current literature available on verification, as compared with validation in HCS and, finally, offer a working definition and concept for each of these terms with hopes to facilitate improved communication within, and with colleagues outside, the HCS community.

An Observational Study of 3 Different Transfusion Medicine Teaching Methods for Medical Students.

Knowledge deficits of transfusion medicine are prevalent among learners and practicing physicians. In the past, the transfusion medicine community has thoughtfully defined the content of transfusion medicine curriculums through Transfusion Medicine Academic Award Group and The Academy of Clinical Laboratory Physicians and Scientists. The manner in which the curriculum should be delivered has been less carefully examined and defined. We completed an observational study in which we analyzed 3 different teaching techniques: in-person faculty-led simulation curriculum consisting of didactic session and simulation ("Simulation group"); hybrid education with a combination of online materials and short in-person simulation ("Hybrid group"); and online-only education module, which delivered the whole curricular content through a variety of online materials and videos ("Online-only group"). Knowledge acquisition was assessed with a 10-question multiple-choice questionnaire, and satisfaction was assessed by a 9-question online student satisfaction survey. A total of 276second-year medical students participated in the study. There was statistically significant difference between pre- and posttest results and in knowledge gain favoring the Simulation group as compared with the Online-only group (P=.03, P<.0001) and favoring the Simulation group as compared with the Hybrid group (P=.004, P<.0001). The Simulation group and Hybrid group medical students were also more satisfied with the education activity as compared with the Online-only group (P<.0001, P<.001). Our study demonstrated that a faculty-run transfusion medicine simulation curriculum consisting of an in-person didactic session and simulation session for the second-year medical students produced greater immediate knowledge acquisition compared with an online only or a hybrid curriculum. Furthermore, any curriculum that contained in-person teaching by faculty was preferred over the online only education.

Anesthetic Management During Atrial Septostomy in a Conjoined Thoraco-Omphalopagus Twin With Tricuspid Atresia and d-Transposition of the Great Arteries Before Separation: A Case Report.

Conjoined twins are uncommon with reported incidences of 1 in 30,000-200,000 births. They represent a heterogeneous population in regard to location of joint body parts and presence/extent of internal organ fusion. Positioning, airway management, possible presence of cross-circulation, and the fact that 2 patients require anesthesia for each procedure present significant challenges to the anesthesiologist. We report the anesthetic care of a conjoined twin set in which one of the patients presented with tricuspid atresia, d-transposition of the great arteries, and both atrial and ventricular septal defect. A balloon atrial septostomy was performed to allow survival after a separation procedure.

Identifying Variability in Mental Models Within and Between Disciplines Caring for the Cardiac Surgical Patient.

BACKGROUND: The cardiac operating room is a complex environment requiring efficient and effective communication between multiple disciplines. The objectives of this study were to identify and rank critical time points during the perioperative care of cardiac surgical patients, and to assess variability in responses, as a correlate of a shared mental model, regarding the importance of these time points between and within disciplines. METHODS: Using Delphi technique methodology, panelists from 3 institutions were tasked with developing a list of critical time points, which were subsequently assigned to pause point (PP) categories. Panelists then rated these PPs on a 100-point visual analog scale. Descriptive statistics were expressed as percentages, medians, and interquartile ranges (IQRs). We defined low response variability between panelists as an IQR ≤ 20, moderate response variability as an IQR > 20 and ≤ 40, and high response variability as an IQR > 40. RESULTS: Panelists identified a total of 12 PPs. The PPs identified by the highest number of panelists were (1) before surgical incision, (2) before aortic cannulation, (3) before cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) initiation, (4) before CPB separation, and (5) at time of transfer of care from operating room (OR) to intensive care unit (ICU) staff. There was low variability among panelists' ratings of the PP "before surgical incision," moderate response variability for the PPs "before separation from CPB," "before transfer from OR table to bed," and "at time of transfer of care from OR to ICU staff," and high response variability for the remaining 8 PPs. In addition, the perceived importance of each of these PPs varies between disciplines and between institutions. CONCLUSIONS: Cardiac surgical providers recognize distinct critical time points during cardiac surgery. However, there is a high degree of variability within and between disciplines as to the importance of these times, suggesting an absence of a shared mental model among disciplines caring for cardiac surgical patients during the perioperative period. A lack of a shared mental model could be one of the factors contributing to preventable errors in cardiac operating rooms.

An Evaluation of CA-1 Residents' Adherence to a Standardized Handoff Checklist.

BACKGROUND: Poor-quality handoffs are a significant cause of preventable medical errors and adverse events. Handoff checklists improve handoffs but adherence to these tools is often inconsistent. In our study we aimed to investigate the effects of simulated handoff workshop and clinical instruction on resident handoff quality. METHODS: A three-week pre-education intervention observation period of handoffs was conducted to assess the deficits, variability, and common practice in handoffs at the University of Minnesota Fairview Hospital. An institution specific handoff tool was then created by expert anesthesiologists at the University of Minnesota. A prospective observational assessment was then performed one year later to evaluate CA-1's adherence to the content of a standardized handoff checklist in the intraoperative and post-anesthesia care unit environment after exposure to current educational techniques. RESULTS: With introduction of a handoff checklist tool, CA-1 residents included 70.70% (±0.11%) of handoff checklist information in their handoffs during the pre-workshop phase. Following a 2-hour simulated workshop on standardized handoffs, CA-1 residents still only included 70.00% (±0.02%) of handoff checklist information in their handoffs. CA-1 residents included 43.50% (±0.12%) of handoff checklist information in their handoffs at 6 months following the workshop. A one-way analysis of variance revealed a significant difference between the groups F(4, 135) = 18.83, p<0.05. CONCLUSIONS: The current method of education for handoffs does not ensure resident adherence to a standardized handoff technique. We propose that the inclusion of a written or electronic handoff checklist should be enforced and refresher courses should be administered early and frequently.

Not all unprofessional behaviors are equal: The creation of a checklist of bad behaviors.

INTRODUCTION: Professionalism is a key component of medical education and training. However, there are few tools to aid educators in diagnosing unprofessional behavior at an early stage. The purpose of this study was to employ policy capturing methodology to develop two empirically validated checklists for identifying professionalism issues in early-career physicians. METHOD: In a series of workshops, a professionalism competency model containing 74 positive and 70 negative professionalism behaviors was developed and validated. Subsequently, 23 subject matter experts indicated their level of concern if each negative behavior occurred 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 or more times during a six-month period. These ratings were used to create a "brief" and "extended" professionalism checklist for monitoring physician misconduct. RESULTS: This study confirmed the subjective impression that some unprofessional behaviors are more egregious than others. Fourteen negative behaviors (e.g. displaying obvious signs of substance abuse) were judged to be concerning if they occurred only once, whereas many others (e.g. arriving late for conferences) were judged to be concerning only when they occurred repeatedly. DISCUSSION: Medical educators can use the professionalism checklists developed in this study to aid in the early identification and subsequent remediation of unprofessional behavior in medical students and residents.

Oral dexmedetomidine for preoperative sedation in an adult uncooperative autistic patient.

We describe preoperative sedation with oral dexmedetomidine 5 mcg/kg in an uncooperative adult with autism and developmental delay. The sedation with oral dexmedetomidine achieved good sedation level (Ramsey 4-5), allowing for calm transfer of the patient to the operating room and uneventful induction of anesthesia.

Simulation-based education for transfusion medicine.

BACKGROUND: The administration of blood products is frequently determined by physicians without subspecialty training in transfusion medicine (TM). Education in TM is necessary for appropriate utilization of resources and maintaining patient safety. Our institution developed an efficient simulation-based TM course with the goal of identifying key topics that could be individualized to learners of all levels in various environments while also allowing for practice in an environment where the patient is not placed at risk. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: A 2.5-hour simulation-based educational activity was designed and taught to undergraduate medical students rotating through anesthesiology and TM elective rotations and to all Clinical Anesthesia Year 1 (CA-1) residents. Content and process evaluation of the activity consisted of multiple-choice tests and course evaluations. RESULTS: Seventy medical students and seven CA-1 residents were enrolled in the course. There was no significant difference on pretest results between medical students and CA-1 residents. The posttest results for both medical students and CA-1 residents were significantly higher than pretest results. The results of the posttest between medical students and CA-1 residents were not significantly different. CONCLUSION: The TM knowledge gap is not a trivial problem as transfusion of blood products is associated with significant risks. Innovative educational techniques are needed to address the ongoing challenges with knowledge acquisition and retention in already full curricula. Our institution developed a feasible and effective way to integrate TM into the curriculum. Educational activities, such as this, might be a way to improve the safety of transfusions.

The association between ASA status and other risk stratification models on postoperative intensive care unit outcomes.

BACKGROUND: There is limited medical literature investigating the association between perioperative risk stratification methods and surgical intensive care unit (SICU) outcomes. Our hypothesis contends that routine assessments such as higher ASA physical status classification, surgical risk as defined by American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guidelines, and simplified Revised Cardiac Index (SRCI) can reliably be associated with SICU outcomes. METHODS: We performed a chart review of all patients 18 years or older admitted to the SICU between October 1, 2010, and March 1, 2011. We collected demographic and preoperative clinical data: age, sex, ASA physical status class, surgical risk, and SRCI. Outcome data included our primary end point, SICU length of stay, and secondary end points: mechanical ventilation and vasopressor treatment duration, number of acquired organ dysfunctions (NOD), readmission to the intensive care unit (ICU) within 7 days, SICU mortality, and 30-day mortality. Regression analysis and nonparametric tests were used, and P < 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: We screened 239 patients and included 220 patients in the study. The patients' mean age was 58 ± 16 years. There were 32% emergent surgery and 5% readmissions to the SICU within 7 days. The SICU mortality and the 30-day mortality were 3.2%. There was a significant difference between SICU length of stay (2.9 ± 2.1 vs 5.9 ± 7.4, P = 0.007), mechanical ventilation (0.9 ± 2.0 vs 3.4 ± 6.8, P = 0.01), and NOD (0 [0-2] vs 1 [0-5], P < 0.001) based on ASA physical status class (≤ 2 vs ≥ 3). Outcomes significantly associated with ASA physical status class after adjusting for confounders were: SICU length of stay (incidence rate ratio [IRR] = 1.79, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.35-2.39, P < 0.001), mechanical ventilation (IRR = 2.57, 95% CI, 1.69-3.92, P < 0.001), vasopressor treatment (IRR = 3.57, 95% CI, 1.84-6. 94, P < 0.001), NOD (IRR = 1.71, 95% CI, 1.46-1.99, P < 0.001), and readmission to ICU (odds ratio = 3.39, 95% CI, 1.04-11.09, P = 0.04). We found significant association between surgery risk and NOD (IRR = 1.56, 95% CI, 1.29-1.89, P < 0.001, and adjusted IRR = 1.31, 95% CI, 1.05-1.64, P = 0.02). SRCI was not significantly associated with SICU outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Our study revealed that ASA physical status class is associated with increased SICU length of stay, mechanical ventilation, vasopressor treatment duration, NOD, readmission to ICU, and surgery risk is associated with NOD.

Unrecognized bilateral temporomandibular joint dislocation after general anesthesia with a delay in diagnosis and management: a case report.

INTRODUCTION: Anterior bilateral temporomandibular joint dislocation is not an uncommon occurrence and has been reported before. However, its diagnosis can easily be overlooked, especially by clinicians who are unfamiliar with this pathology. Continuous discussion of the pathology is required to prevent delays in diagnosis, which can lead to long-term sequelae for the patient. CASE PRESENTATION: We present the case of a 66-year-old Somali woman who experienced a bilateral anterior temporomandibular joint dislocation after a general anesthetic for an exploratory laparotomy for excision of a pelvic sarcoma. She first presented in the intensive care unit with preauricular pain and an inability to close her mouth, and was initially misdiagnosed and treated for a muscle spasm. The cause of her misdiagnosis was multifactorial - opioid-related sedation, language and cultural barrier, and unfamiliarity with the pathology. Her diagnosis was proven 18 hours after the completion of surgery with a plain X-ray. A manual closed reduction was performed with minimal sedation by oral surgery. CONCLUSION: We provided an in-depth discussion of temporomandibular joint dislocation and suggest a simple test that would prevent delayed diagnosis of temporomandibular joint dislocation in any patient undergoing general anesthesia. A normal mandibular excursion should be tested in every patient after surgery in the postoperative care unit, by asking the patient to open and close their mouth during the immediate postoperative recovery period or passively performing the range of motion test.

Simulation-a new educational paradigm?

Simulation is a modern educational tool that has recently gained in the field of medical education. The use of simulation continues to expand, and studies evaluating the effectiveness of simulation-based medical education are ongoing. The history of medical education and adult educational theory are reviewed, and the details of effective simulation techniques are described. Finally, outcomes of simulation-based medical education are summarized.

Cerebral oximetry during cardiac surgery: the association between cerebral oxygen saturation and perioperative patient variables.

OBJECTIVE: This "real-world" study was designed to assess the patterns of regional cerebral oxygen saturation (rSO(2)) change during adult cardiac surgery. A secondary objective was to determine any relation between perioperative rSO(2) (baseline and during surgery) and patient characteristics or intraoperative variables. DESIGN: Prospective, observational, multicenter, nonrandomized clinical study. SETTING: Cardiac operating rooms at 3 academic medical centers. PARTICIPANTS: Ninety consecutive adult patients presenting for cardiac surgery with or without cardiopulmonary bypass. INTERVENTIONS: Patients received standard care at each institution plus bilateral forehead recordings of cerebral oxygen saturation with the 7600 Regional Oximeter System (Nonin Medical, Plymouth, MN). MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The average baseline (before induction) rSO(2) was 63.9 ± 8.8% (range 41%-95%); preoperative hematocrit correlated with baseline rSO(2) (0.48% increase for each 1% increase in hematocrit, p = 0.008). The average nadir (lowest recorded rSO(2) for any given patient) was 54.9 ± 6.6% and was correlated with on-pump surgery, baseline rSO(2), and height. Baseline rSO(2) was found to be an independent predictor of length of stay (hazard ratio 1.044, confidence interval 1.02-1.07, for each percentage of baseline rSO(2)). CONCLUSIONS: In cardiac surgical patients, lower baseline rSO(2) value, on-pump surgery, and height were significant predictors of nadir rSO(2), whereas only baseline rSO(2) was a predictor of postoperative length of stay. These findings support previous research on the predictive value of baseline rSO(2) on length of stay and emphasize the need for further research regarding the clinical relevance of baseline rSO(2) and intraoperative changes.