Implementation of an Online Intraoperative Assessment of Technical Performance for Surgical Trainees.

INTRODUCTION: Assessment of surgical resident technical performance is an integral component of any surgical training program. Timely assessment delivered in a structured format is a critical step to enhance technical skills, but residents often report that the quality and quantity of timely feedback received is lacking. Moreover, the absence of written feedback with specificity can allow residents to seemingly progress in their operative milestones as a junior resident, but struggle as they progress into their postgraduate year 3 and above. We therefore designed and implemented a web-based intraoperative assessment tool and corresponding summary "dashboard" to facilitate real-time assessment and documentation of technical performance. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A web form was designed leveraging a cloud computing platform and implementing a modified Ottawa Surgical Competency Operating Room Evaluation instrument; this included additional, procedure-specific criteria for select operations. A link to this was provided to residents via email and to all surgical faculty as a Quick Response code. Residents open and complete a portion of the form on a smartphone, then relinquish the device to an attending surgeon who then completes and submits the assessment. The data are then transferred to a secure web-based reporting interface; each resident (together with a faculty advisor) can then access and review all completed assessments. RESULTS: The Assessment form was activated in June 2021 and formally introduced to all residents in July 2021, with residents required to complete at least one assessment per month. Residents with less predictable access to operative procedures (night float or Intensive Care Unit) were exempted from the requirement on those months. To date a total of 559 assessments have been completed for operations performed by 56 trainees, supervised by 122 surgical faculty and senior trainees. The mean number of procedures assessed per resident was 10.0 and the mean number per assessor was 4.6. Resident initiation of Intraoperative Assessments has increased since the tool was introduced and scores for technical and nontechnical performance reliably differentiate residents by seniority. CONCLUSIONS: This novel system demonstrates that an online, resident-initiated technical assessment tool is feasible to implement and scale. This model's requirement that the attending enter performance ratings into the trainee's electronic device ensures that feedback is delivered directly to the trainee. Whether this aspect of our assessment ensures more direct and specific (and therefore potentially actionable) feedback is a focus for future study. Our use of commercial cloud computing services should permit cost-effective adoption of similar systems at other training programs.

Anti-C5 Antibody Tesidolumab Reduces Early Antibody-mediated Rejection and Prolongs Survival in Renal Xenotransplantation.

OBJECTIVE: Pig-to-primate renal xenotransplantation is plagued by early antibody-mediated graft loss which precludes clinical application of renal xenotransplantation. We evaluated whether temporary complement inhibition with anti-C5 antibody Tesidolumab could minimize the impact of early antibody-mediated rejection in rhesus monkeys receiving pig kidneys receiving costimulatory blockade-based immunosuppression. METHODS: Double (Gal and Sda) and triple xenoantigen (Gal, Sda, and SLA I) pigs were created using CRISPR/Cas. Kidneys from DKO and TKO pigs were transplanted into rhesus monkeys that had the least reactive crossmatches. Recipients received anti-C5 antibody weekly for 70 days, and T cell depletion, anti-CD154, mycophenolic acid, and steroids as baseline immunosuppression (n = 7). Control recipients did not receive anti-C5 therapy (n = 10). RESULTS: Temporary anti-C5 therapy reduced early graft loss secondary to antibody-mediated rejection and improved graft survival (P < 0.01). Deleting class I MHC (SLA I) in donor pigs did not ameliorate early antibody-mediated rejection (table). Anti-C5 therapy did not allow for the use of tacrolimus instead of anti-CD154 (table), prolonging survival to a maximum of 62 days. CONCLUSION: Inhibition of the C5 complement subunit prolongs renal xenotransplant survival in a pig to non-human primate model.

Does Intentional Support of Degree Programs in General Surgery Residency Affect Research Productivity or Pursuit of Academic Surgery? A Multi-Institutional Study.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether pursuit of an advanced degree during dedicated research time (DRT) in a general surgery residency training program impacts a resident's research productivity. DESIGN: A retrospective, multi-institutional cohort study. SETTING: General surgery residency programs that were approved to graduate more than 5 categorical residents per year and that offered at least 1 year of DRT were contacted for participation in the study. A total of 10 general surgery residency programs agreed to participate in the study. PARTICIPANTS: Residents who started their residency between 2000 and 2012 and spent at least one full year in DRT (n = 511) were included. Those who completed an advanced degree were compared on the following parameters to those who did not complete one: total number of papers, first-author papers, the Journal Citation Reports impact factors of publication (2018, or most recent), and first position after residency or fellowship training. RESULTS: During DRT, 87 (17%) residents obtained an advanced degree. The most common degree obtained was a Master of Public Health (MPH, n = 42 (48.8%)). Residents who did not obtain an advanced degree during DRT published fewer papers (median 8, [interquartile range 4-12]) than those who obtained a degree (9, [6-17]) (p = 0.002). They also published fewer first author papers (3, [2-6]) vs (5, [2-9]) (p = 0.002) than those who obtained a degree. Resident impact factor (RIF) was calculated using Journal Citation Reports impact factor and author position. Those who did not earn an advanced degree had a lower RIF (adjusted RIF, 84 ± 4 vs 134 ± 5, p < 0.001) compared to those who did. There was no association between obtaining a degree and pursuit of academic surgery (p = 0.13) CONCLUSIONS: Pursuit of an advanced degree during DRT is associated with increased research productivity but is not associated with pursuit of an academic career.

Increasing the Effectiveness of "Stop the Bleed" Training Through Stepwise Mastery Learning with Deliberate Practice.

OBJECTIVE: The Stop the Bleed (STB) Campaign supported by the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma (ACSCT) and numerous other national organizations aspires to translate lifesaving military successes into reductions in civilian hemorrhagic deaths. While a curricular framework has been described, precise approaches to hands-on training are not specified and training success rates are not yet optimized. Our aim was to test the feasibility and effectiveness of an STB program enhanced by stepwise mastery learning with deliberate practice. STUDY DESIGN: Learners participated in an STB program combining evidence-based training models: the Peyton 4-stage model and simulation-based mastery learning with deliberate practice. ASCTC-certified STB coaches used a 3-point, behaviorally explicit checklist to test 4 skills: apply direct pressure; apply standard and improvised tourniquets; pack a wound. An anonymous questionnaire was administered. SETTING: Simulation Center, Emory University School of Medicine. PARTICIPANTS: College students (N = 30) with no previous trauma training. RESULTS: 100% of participants reached mastery level for all 4 hemorrhage control skills within 4 tries. Additionally, 87% could state a definitive sign of life-threatening bleeding. 76% predicted comfort using a tourniquet in a real-life emergency; among 6 who would be very uncomfortable, 5 nonetheless would definitely recommend the course. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrate feasibility and increased effectiveness of an STB course using evidence-based procedural training techniques. Adopting these techniques in current STB programs could close the current trainee performance gap and substantially increase the annual number of successfully trained laypersons over current reported levels with no increase required in enrollees, programs, or resources. Future studies should address the challenges of knowledge retention and skill decay, just-in-time innovations, implementation science methods to broaden access, and barriers to responding to real-life crisis events. Surgery education leaders can close performance gaps and make a unique contribution to the Hartford Consensus principle: No one should die from uncontrolled bleeding.

Banking Brain Tumor Specimens Using a University Core Facility.

Within the past three decades, the significance of banking human cancer tissue for the advancement of cancer research has grown exponentially. The purpose of this article is to detail our experience in collecting brain tumor specimens in collaboration with the University of Miami/Sylvester Tissue Bank Core Facility (UM-TBCF), to ensure the availability of high-quality samples of central nervous system tumor tissue for research. Successful tissue collection begins with obtaining informed consent from patients following institutional IRB and federal HIPAA guidelines, and it needs a well-trained professional staff and continued maintenance of high ethical standards and record keeping. Since starting in 2011, we have successfully banked 225 brain tumor specimens for research. Thus far, the most common tumor histology identified among those specimens has been glioblastoma (22.1%), followed by meningioma (18.1%). The majority of patients were White, non-Hispanics accounting for 45.1% of the patient population; Hispanic/Latinos accounted for 23%, and Black/African Americans accounted for 14%, which represent the particular population of the State of Florida according to the 2010 census data. The most common tumors found in each subgroup were as follows: Black/African American, glioblastoma and meningioma; Hispanic, metastasis and glioblastoma; White, glioblastoma and meningioma. The UM-TBCF is a valuable repository, offering high-quality tumor samples from a unique patient population.