Long-term outcomes of resident- versus attending-performed primary trabeculectomy with mitomycin C in a United States residency program.

PURPOSE: To evaluate long-term outcomes of primary trabeculectomy with mitomycin C performed by ophthalmology residents. DESIGN: Cohort study and case-matched comparison. METHODS: setting: Residency program. population/intervention: A cohort of glaucoma patients at a Veterans Administration hospital (VAH) and private patients of attending physicians ("attendings") who underwent primary trabeculectomy between 2003 and 2012 with ≥6 months of postoperative follow-up. Qualified surgical success was defined as intraocular pressure (IOP) ≤15 and >5 mm Hg (± glaucoma medications) without complications or additional glaucoma surgery. A subgroup of VAH patients with resident-performed trabeculectomy was case-matched to private patients with attending-performed trabeculectomy. outcome measures: Success rate, IOP, glaucoma medication number, visual acuity, complications, and additional glaucoma surgery. RESULTS: Eighty-five eyes (85 patients) underwent resident-performed primary trabeculectomy at the VAH with mean follow-up duration of 45.2 ± 28.1 months. Cumulative survival rates were 69.0% ± 5.6% at 3 years and 65.0% ± 6.5% at 5 years of follow-up. The complication rate was 9.4%. Patients in the resident group had more severe preoperative visual field defects, poorer long-term postoperative visual acuity, and a lower rate of cataract surgery performed after trabeculectomy than those in the attending group. CONCLUSION: Glaucoma patients at a VAH with primary trabeculectomy performed by residents under attending supervision had similar success and complication rates as patients who underwent attending-performed trabeculectomies. However, the visual outcomes of patients with trabeculectomy performed by residents were worse in the long term, which might be attributable to a more advanced glaucoma disease stage or a lower rate of cataract surgery performed in the VAH patients.

Teaching the competencies: using objective structured clinical encounters for gastroenterology fellows.

BACKGROUND AIMS: Objective structured clinical encounters (OSCEs) are used widely to educate and assess the competence of medical students and residents; they generally are absent from fellowship training. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Education has cited OSCEs as a best practice for assessing the 6 core competencies. This article reports on the use of an OSCE to assess the competence of second-year gastroenterology fellows in the difficult-to-assess core competencies: interpersonal and communication skills and professionalism. METHODS: We developed a 4-station, faculty-observed OSCE with 4 standardized patients. Information gathering, relationship development, patient education, and counseling skills were assessed. Professionalism skills assessed included obtaining informed consent, delivering bad news, managing difficult situations, and showing interdisciplinary respect. In each station, faculty and standardized patients completed an 18- to 24-item checklist evaluating fellows' performance and provided feedback to the fellows. Nine fellows and 5 faculty from 4 gastroenterology training programs in NYC participated. RESULTS: Fellows and faculty generally highly rated the realism of the OSCE and favorably rated the OSCE for its difficulty and their overall experience. Across all cases, fellows were rated as receiving "well dones" for 56.4% of the communication items (SD, 18.3%) and for 79.1% of the professionalism items (SD, 16.4%). CONCLUSIONS: Integrating OSCEs into gastroenterology fellowship training may help enhance communication skills and prepare fellows for dealing with difficult clinical situations and provides mechanisms for constructive feedback. OSCEs developed collaboratively can assist in program self-evaluation and reduce costs by sharing resources, in addition to fulfilling Accreditation Council for Graduate Education mandates.