General Surgery Specialties Research Articles

Surgeon stress, anxiety, and workload: a descriptive study of participant reported responses to fundamentals of laparoscopic surgery exercises.

Stress while operating is an important contributor to surgeon health and burnout. Measuring stress is key to improving surgeon and patient outcomes, however biological responses to stress during surgery are variable and difficult to interpret. Participant reported measures of stress have been suggested as an alternative, but the most appropriate measure has not been defined. This study's primary aim was to assess measures of anxiety, stress, and workload before and after surgical simulation and characterize the relationship between these measures. Surgeons completed three laparoscopic exercises from the fundamentals of laparoscopy program (peg transfer, pattern cutting, intracorporeal suturing) in a neutral environment and "stressed" environment (ergonomic, noise, or time pressure). State trait anxiety and self-reported stress on a visual analogue scale were collected prior to simulation and again immediately afterwards. The NASA task load index (TLX) was also administered post-simulation. Of the 26 participants from gynecological and general surgery specialties, state anxiety increased in 98/148 simulations (62%) with a significant mean increase during simulation (32.9 ± 7.9 vs 39.4 ± 10.2, p < .001). Self-reported stress increased in 107/148 simulations (72%), with a significant increase in mean scores during simulation (38.7 ± 22.5 vs 48.9 ± 23.7, p < .001). NASA-TLX scores immediately after simulation ranged from 40 to 118 (mean 60.5 ± 28.7). Greater anxiety and stress scores were reported in "stressed" simulations (43.6 ± 23.1 vs 54.2 ± 23.3; 68.7 ± 27.0 vs 52.4 ± 28.2 respectively) with a significant interaction effect of the "stressed" environment and type of exercise. Anxiety and stress were moderately positively correlated prior to simulation (r = .40) and strongly positively correlated post-simulation (r = .70), however only stress was strongly correlated to workload (r = .79). Stress and anxiety varied by type of laparoscopic exercise and simulation environment. Correlations between anxiety and stress are stronger post-simulation than prior to simulation. Stress, but not anxiety, is highly correlated with workload.

Introduction to the Contemporary Assessment and Recommendations to Enhance Surgical Education and Training: Reports of the Subcommittees of the Blue Ribbon Committee II.

The BRC II was a panel of 67 experts selected on the basis of experience and leadership in surgical education and training. It was organized into subcommittees, each of which was asked to prepare a manuscript on their findings and recommendations. The BRC II Subcommittees were: Blue Ribbon Committee 1 Review and Assessment; Surgical Workforce; Medical Student Education; Work Life Integration; Resident Education; Goals, Structure and Financing of Training; Education Support and Faculty Development; Research Training; Educational Technology and Assessment. BRC II used the Delphi approach with consensus defined as equal to or greater than 80% and identified and recommended 31 priorities for surgical education in 2024. The initial findings were presented to a general surgery and related specialty resident and fellow focus group for comments and written feedback, and they were asked to prepare a manuscript as well. The reports of the Subcommittees of the BRC II provide an assessment and key recommendations concerning surgical education and training in 2024.

Demystifying the association of center-level operative trauma volume and outcomes of emergency general surgery

BackgroundRecent studies have demonstrated a positive volume-outcome relationship in emergency general surgery. Some have advocated for the sub-specialization of emergency general surgery independent from trauma. We hypothesized inferior clinical outcomes of emergency general surgery with increasing center-level operative trauma volume, potentially attributable to overall hospital quality. MethodsAdults (≥18 years) undergoing complex emergency general surgery operations (large and small bowel resection, repair of perforated peptic ulcer, lysis of adhesions, laparotomy) were identified in the 2016 to 2020 Nationwide Readmissions Database. Multivariable risk-adjusted models were developed to evaluate the association of treatment at a high-volume trauma center (reference: low-volume trauma center) with clinical and financial outcomes after emergency general surgery. To evaluate hospital quality, mortality among adult hospitalizations for acute myocardial infarction was assessed by hospital trauma volume. ResultsOf an estimated 785,793 patients undergoing a complex emergency general surgery operation, 223,116 (28.4%) were treated at a high-volume trauma center. Treatment at a high-volume trauma center was linked to 1.19 odds of in-hospital mortality (95% confidence interval 1.12–1.27). Although emergency general surgery volume was associated with decreasing predicted risk of mortality, increasing trauma volume was linked to an incremental rise in the odds of mortality after emergency general surgery. Secondary analysis revealed increased mortality for admissions for acute myocardial infarction with greater trauma volume. ConclusionWe note increased mortality for emergency general surgery and acute myocardial infarction in patients receiving treatment at high-volume trauma centers, signifying underlying structural factors to broadly affect quality. Thus, decoupling trauma and emergency general surgery services may not meaningfully improve outcomes for emergency general surgery patients. Our findings have implications for the evolving specialty of emergency general surgery, especially for the safety and continued growth of the acute care surgery model.

Effect of Surgery Before and After Clerkship on the Attitude of Medical Students Toward Surgery as a Future Career in Saudi Arabia

Background: It is becoming harder and harder to persuade talented medical students to choose carers in any of the medical specialties. According to studies, the majority of medical students make their final career decisions while still in college. Various student and institution-related aspects are crucial to the decision on specialization. Gender, age, marital status, prestige influence, surgical mentors, career potential, intellectual challenge, and clerkship experience are among the variables recognized as having a major impact on the decision to choose surgery as a career. Methods: The data were collected through an online self-administered questionnaire. The study is a questionnaire-based cross-sectional study. The target population of this study included medical students in the fourth year and above from Saudi Arabia. Results: This study was conducted in Saudi Arabia with 835 participants, of whom 62.4% and 37.6% were female and male, respectively. The majority of respondents (83.2%) fell within the age range of 18 - 25 years. The largest representation of participants came from the western region (29.7%), followed by the southern region (27.4%). Regarding career aspirations, 60.5% were willing to pursue a career in surgery; however, 39.5% expressed a negative inclination. Among medical students, general surgery students showed no significant change in attitudes before and after a surgical clerkship; nevertheless, other specialties remained largely unaffected. Factors influencing the choice of a surgical career included lifestyle concerns, perception of working hours, prestige, manual activity, intellectual challenge, research opportunities, work-life balance, financial considerations, and patient perception. Conclusions: This study indicated that a significant percentage of participants expressed a positive inclination toward pursuing a career in surgery. However, a surgical clerkship did not significantly influence the attitudes of medical students toward general surgery or other specialties. Factors such as lifestyle concerns, working hours, prestige, intellectual challenge, and financial considerations played crucial roles in shaping career choices among medical students.

Incidence of post open appendectomy incisional hernia in Erbil City

Background: since acute appendicitis is the most common presenting diseases in the surgical emergency departments, Appendectomy regarded as a common emergency surgical procedure that is done by the surgeons in the general surgery specialty. The complication of an incisional hernia development after open appendectomy is rare, found in about 0.12% of the appendectomy operations; interstitial type of incisional hernia complication following open appendectomy surgery is extremely rare condition, small number of reports found to deal with the incisional hernia development at the site of appendectomy in a range of (0.4-0.7%).&#x0D; Objective: To assess the incidence of incisional hernia following open appendectomy in Erbil province – Kurdistan region- Iraq.&#x0D; Patients and Methods: This retrospective study involved 598 cases between the period of first of July 2015 to 30th of April 2020, the cases presented with features of acute appendicitis, after admission and complete history taking, surgical intervention (open appendectomy) has been done for all of them, follow up for the diagnosis of the post appendectomy incisional hernia development done throughout revising the files and ID s of the patients and contacting them or their close relatives via personal mobile numbers, others re-consulted us for any operation site discomforts, any patient with suspicion of operation site problems asked to return to the outpatient surgical room for follow up and excluding or confirmation of operation site incisional hernia. The patients followed up for about 2-3 years after the operation days and contacting period with the patients or their close relatives to exclude incisional hernia development at open appendectomy site took about 6 months.&#x0D; Results: Out of 598 cases included in this retrospective study, 286 cases were male and 312 cases were female, the ages ranged between 5 and 91 years old with a mean and Standard Deviation (SD) 24.13, the age group of up to 10 years old included 13 cases, 2nd decade age group included 258 cases, while the third age group (21 – 30 years old) was included 167 cases. Risk factors for development of incisional hernia assessed among all cases, 56.85% of all cases had at least one of the risk factors and the remaining 43.15% devoid of any risk factors, the risk factors distributed among constipation (19.4%), pregnancy among female patients (18.9%), followed by diabetes mellitus, chronic cough and heavy working occupations (4.85% ,4.52% and 3.34% respectively), and BPH and anemia with other immunocompromised risk factors made only about 5.8%, only three patients (0.5%) developed incisional hernia after open appendectomy.&#x0D; Conclusion: Post open appendectomy incisional hernia is rare in patients without risk factors of wound dehiscence, with minimizing the risk factors of incisional hernia and wound dehiscence, the incidence of open appendectomy wound incisional hernia can be minimized to lowest rate.

Trends in Industry Payments to Surgeons During COVID-19

IntroductionThe Physician Payment Sunshine Act created the Open Payments Program (OPP), which is used to disclose transactions between physicians and industry. The impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on this relationship is yet to be determined. Our aim was to compare payments before and after the onset of COVID-19 through the OPP. MethodsThe OPP database was queried between 2014 and 2021 for all general surgery specialties. Payments were classified as general payments and research payments. Payments during 2014-2019 were classified as pre-COVID and compared to payments from 2020 to 2021 which were classified as post-COVID-Outbreak. ResultsFrom 2014 to 2021, 60,245 surgeons received general payments totaling $1.16 billion dollars. Comparing 2019 to 2020, general payments declined from $204.6 million to $108.5 million (−47%) and research payments from $157.3 million to $115.7 million (−26.5%). When comparing trends from 2014-2019 to 2020-2021, the mean number of payments was significantly higher at 394,782 versus 240,778 (P = 0.03) for general payments and 13,671 versus 10,382 (P = 0.03) for research payments. When comparing general payments among various surgical subspecialties, all fields saw a notable decline in general payments. Travel/lodging was the category of payment that saw the most significant change. ConclusionsIndustry payments declined as we entered the COVID-19 pandemic for both general and research payments. This decrease was seen across all surgical subspecialties. These trends in payments seen during the COVID-19 pandemic and the long-term economic impact of COVID-19 on the physician-industry relationship are still developing. Ongoing changes in future years to industry payments are worthy of continued monitoring.

A Case for Horizontal Distribution of Activities between General Surgery and Surgical Super Specialties

Under the current practice in organizing surgical services, proportionate representation of disciplines is provided in the curricular planning and in corresponding clinical functions. This is based on the level of competence expected by the end of training period. The disciplines as a “whole” are placed in general surgery or super specialty. The system of vertical arrangement has some serious concerns. Paradoxically, patients with diseases of simple and routine nature of discipline categorized as super specialty are neglected. Super specialist is unable to attend on account of preoccupation with serious challenging problems. The general surgeon hesitates because of privileging issues, fear of allegations of negligence and litigation. The system of vertical division is based on premise that some disciplines deal with complex procedures and others with only simple and routine nature. This premise is incorrect. Each discipline is a mix of simple and complex cases requiring specialized treatment. Alternate modified organization of surgical service is proposed. Activities of all disciplines are scrutinized according to the level of expected competence by the end of training. Categorization is shifted from the “discipline' to “activities.” Criteria applied for classification of activities are as follows: on completion, the trainee is capable to assume full responsibility-category 1; has gained sufficient experience-category 2; and is conversant with broad understanding of management-category 3. Activities of category 1 from all disciplines are assigned to general surgery and those of category 3 from all disciplines are assigned to respective super specialty. Those in the middle, comprising difficult cases but not requiring specialized training or heavy inputs in equipment, are in category 2. They are assigned to general surgery as additional/optional items, or super specialty, guided by local factors. The scope and practice of general surgery are broadened with a shift from “residual” to “comprehensive” discipline. Advantages, concerns, collateral issues of horizontal distribution of activities, its positive impact on research and education are discussed. It is concluded that the proposed organization of surgical services is a rational, logical, and practical strategy for good-quality surgical care in the society. The super specialists need to be convinced that “taking load off” is good for the specialty.

Consistent application of compression: an under-considered variable in the prevention of venous leg ulcers.

Venous leg ulcers, the most common leg ulcer, occur in patients with chronic venous insufficiency due to venous hypertension. Evidence supports the conservative treatment with lower extremity compression, ideally between 30-40 mm Hg. Pressures in this range provide enough force to partially collapse lower extremity veins without restricting arterial flow in patients without peripheral arterial disease. There are many options for applying such compression, and those who apply these devices have varying levels of training and backgrounds. In this quality improvement project, a single observer utilized a reusable pressure monitor to compare pressures applied using different devices by individuals in wound clinics with diverse training from specialties of dermatology, podiatry, and general surgery. Average compression was higher in the dermatology wound clinic (n=153) compared to the general surgery clinic (n=53) (35.7 ± 13.3 mm Hg and 27.2 ± 8.0 mm Hg, respectively, p<.0001), and wraps applied by clinic staff (n=194) were nearly twice as likely as a self-applied wrap (n=71) to have pressures greater than 40 mm Hg (relative risk 2.2, 95% confidence interval 1.136-4.423, p = .02). Pressures were also dependent upon the specific compression device used, with CircAid®s (35.5 mm Hg, SD 12.0 mm Hg, n=159) providing higher average pressures than Sigvaris Compreflex (29.5 mm Hg, SD 7.7 mm Hg, n=53, p=.009) and Sigvaris Coolflex (25.2 mm Hg, SD 8.0 mm Hg, n=32, p<.0001). These results indicate that the device-provided pressure may be dependent on both the compression device and the background and training of the applicator. We propose that standardization in the training of compression application and increased use of a point-of-care pressure monitor may improve the consistency of applied compression, thus improving adherence to treatment and outcomes in patients with chronic venous insufficiency.

P03 Identification of intervention opportunities through assessment of the appropriateness of antibiotic prescribing in surgical patients in a UK hospital using a national audit tool: a single centre retrospective audit

Abstract Background Identifying opportunities to safely reduce antibiotic prescribing is necessary for prescribers and antibiotic stewardship teams to minimize unwarranted antibiotic use. We aimed to quantify excess antibiotic use in General Surgery. Methods We retrospectively audited the antibiotic prescribing for patients discharged from the General Surgery specialty in an acute hospital in the south-west of England between 01/08/21 and 31/08/21 using an audit tool developed by Public Health England. The appropriateness of prescribing was determined for each patient at three antibiotic decision time-points: at initiation, the pre-72h antibiotic review, and treatment duration. Two infection specialists and a general surgeon reviewed each patient. Indication and excess days of therapy (DOTs) were calculated at each decision time-point and expressed as a proportion of total DOTs. Results Eighty-six patients were prescribed 1162 DOTs; 192 (16.5%) excess DOTs were prescribed in 38 patients (44%), with zero excess days identified in the remaining 48 patients (56%). Seventy-five of 192 (39%) excess DOTs occurred at initiation; 55/192 (29%) after the pre-72hour antibiotic review; and 62/192 (32%) due to protracted antibiotic courses. There was concordance between the general surgeon and infection specialist for the majority of apportioned excess DOTs. However, the surgeon apportioned fewer excess DOTs 160/1162 (13.8%). Overall IV antibiotics accounted for 53.4% of total DOTs. Seventy-two of 86 (83.7%) patients received 620 intravenous DOTs; of these, 79 (12.7%) IV DOTS were unnecessary. Conclusions We have identified excess antibiotic prescribing in General surgery with comparable excess DOTs at all three time-points.

Core Entrustable Professional Activities for Entering Residency: A National Survey of Graduating Medical Students' Self-Assessed Skills by Specialty.

The Association of American Medical Colleges described 13 Core Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) that graduating students should be prepared to perform under indirect supervision on day one of residency. Surgery program directors recently recommended entrustability in these Core EPAs for incoming surgery interns. We sought to determine if graduating students intending to enter surgery agreed they had the skills to perform these Core EPAs. Using de-identified, individual-level data collected from and about 2019 Association of American Medical Colleges Graduation Questionnaire respondents, latent profile analysis was used to group respondents based on their self-assessed Core EPAs skills' response patterns. Associations between intended specialty, among other variables, and latent profile analysis group were assessed using independent sample t -tests and chi-square tests and multivariable logistic regression methods. Among 12,308 Graduation Questionnaire respondents, latent profile analysis identified 2 respondent groups: 7,863 (63.9%) in a high skill acquisition agreement (SAA) group and 4,445 (36.1%) in a moderate SAA group. Specialty was associated with SAA group membership (p < 0.001), with general surgery, orthopaedic surgery, and emergency medicine respondents (among others) overrepresented in the high SAA group. In the multivariable logistic regression models, each of anesthesiology, ophthalmology, pediatrics, psychiatry, and radiology (vs general surgery) specialty intention was associated with a lower odds of high SAA group membership. Graduating students' self-assessed Core EPAs skills were higher for those intending general surgery than for those intending some other specialties. Our findings can inform collaborative efforts to ensure graduates' acquisition of the skills expected of them at the start of residency.

Identification of Intervention Opportunities through Assessment of the Appropriateness of Antibiotic Prescribing in Surgical Patients in a UK Hospital Using a National Audit Tool: A Single Centre Retrospective Audit

Identifying opportunities to safely reduce antibiotic prescribing is necessary for prescribers and antibiotic stewardship teams to minimise unwarranted antibiotic use. We aimed to quantify excess antibiotic use in General Surgery. We retrospectively audited the antibiotic prescribing for patients discharged from the General Surgery specialty in an acute hospital in the south-west of England for one month using an audit tool developed by Public Health England. The appropriateness of prescribing was determined for each patient at three antibiotic decision time-points: at initiation, the pre-72-hour antibiotic review, and treatment duration. Two infection specialists and a general surgeon reviewed each patient. Indication and excess days of therapy (DOTs) were calculated at each decision time-point and expressed as a proportion of total DOTs. Eighty-six patients were prescribed 1162 DOTs; 192 (16.5%) excess DOTs were prescribed in 38 patients (44%), with zero excess days identified in the remaining 48 patients (56%). Seventy-five of 192 (39%) excess DOTs occurred at initiation; 55/192 (29%) after the pre-72-hour antibiotic review; and 62/192 (32%) due to protracted antibiotic courses. There was concordance between the general surgeon and infection specialist for most apportioned excess DOTs. However, the surgeon apportioned fewer excess DOTs 160/1162 (13.8%). Overall IV antibiotics accounted for 53.4% of total DOTs. Seventy-two of 86 (83.7%) patients received 620 intravenous DOTs; of these, 79 (12.7%) IV DOTS were unnecessary. We have identified excess antibiotic prescribing in General surgery with comparable excess DOTs at all three time-points.

29 The Surgical Trainee Personality: Selected or Shaped?

Abstract Aim This study aims to describe the personality differences between trainees at different stages prior to and during surgical training. Method The Mental Muscle Diagram Indicator was distributed electronically to doctors in training in South West London. A total of 553 trainees completed the personality questionnaire. Specifically, there were general surgery specialty (n = 53), core surgical (n = 254), and foundation trainees (n = 246). 52% of trainees were female. Results Women scored significantly higher in the Extraversion, Sensing and Judging personality domains (p &amp;lt; 0.0001), there were no significant differences between genders for ‘Thinking’. One-way ANOVA only showed a significant difference in the ‘Judging’ domain between grades. Tukey's test was performed showing the difference arose from FT to CST (p = 0.008). Two-way ANOVA showed an interaction between gender and grade for ‘Judging’ and as such simple main effects were performed, with alpha = 0.017 to control for type 1 errors. Significant differences were found in the Judging domain between genders during in FT (p=0.002) and CST (p=0.002), and there was no significant difference for SpRs (p=0.15). Conclusions This study demonstrated differences in personality types between trainee stages and gender. These differences appear to decrease as trainees progress through their training, although the cause of this is unclear.

Unintended Perioperative Hypothermia and Surgical Site Infection in Children.

Unintended perioperative hypothermia is associated with surgical site infection (SSI) in adults, prompting exhaustive efforts to maintain perioperative normothermia. Although these efforts are also made for pediatric patients, the association between hypothermia and SSI has not been demonstrated in children. We sought to determine whether perioperative hypothermia and other risk factors and clinical outcomes are associated with SSI in the pediatric population. This case-control study took place from January 2014 through December 2016 and included patients at a National Surgical Quality Improvement Program-participant academic children's hospital. All surgical patients were included in this retrospective analysis. SSI rates were determined. A univariate analysis was performed to determine clinical factors associated with SSI. A multivariate regression analysis was then performed to determine the predictive effect of minimum perioperative temperature for SSI. This study included 3541 patients, of which 92 (2.6%) developed SSI. A univariate analysis showed associations among SSI and higher perioperative temperatures, surgical specialty of otolaryngology and general surgery, and wound classification (American Society of Anesthesiologists [ASA] classification III and IV). A multivariate analysis determined the odds of SSI increased by a factor of 1.6 for every 1°C increase in minimum perioperative temperature. Unintended perioperative hypothermia in our pediatric patients was inversely associated with SSI. This finding suggests that pediatric SSI prevention may not require the efforts made for adult patients to maintain normothermia.

First national manual on pediatric traumatology and its author N.G. Dam’e

The article discusses the content of the first Russian manual on pediatric traumatology and the key points of the biography and work of its author, Nikolai G. Dame. The article introduction briefly outlines the creation history of the first Russian manual on traumatology for adult patients, which noted that pediatric traumatology developed within the framework of pediatric surgery. The first part of the work focused on its greatest interest to readers. It presents previously unpublished reviews of famous orthopedic traumatologists for the first (1950) and second (1960) editions, which perfectly reveal the books content. The second part of the article included the published autobiography written by N.G. Dame. Additionally, the work of N.G. Dame based on archival documents as a military field surgeon during the Great Patriotic War was presented in the same section. The final part included the role of N.G. Dame in creating an original school of pediatric trauma surgeons.&#x0D; The merit of N. G. Dame is the creation of a manual that outlines the basics of diagnosing and treating injuries in children of all types and localizations. He believed that a traumatologist should have the necessary knowledge and skills in emergency general surgery, neurotraumatology, and other surgical specialties. Thus, he anticipated the creation of injury surgery, of which the basic provisions were transferred from the practice of military field surgery.

Self-reported anatomy skills among Norwegian physicians - Need for improved postgraduate teaching provision

Anatomy skills are considered essential in all aspects of medical practice, and more so now than before with increasing use of diagnostic imaging techniques and advanced surgery. In conjunction with the revision of the medical study curriculum at the University of Oslo in 2014, we investigated Norwegian physicians’ assessment of their own anatomy knowledge and the educational provision of anatomical skills during and after specialization. A total of 902 Norwegian physicians divided into the specialties of general medicine, internal medicine, surgery, neurology and radiology responded to an anonymous survey. As many as 73% of the physicians had at some time point experienced insufficient anatomy knowledge in their own practice, most commonly among surgeons and neurologists. The respondents expressed a need for supplementary educational provision in anatomy during and after specialization, and 36% were unfamiliar with such offers. Notably, dissection courses seemed unavailable during specialization. Our findings demonstrate a requirement for an improved supply of anatomy education during and after specialization. Anatomy courses that combine dissection, radiological images and clinical application would seem desirable.

Nutritional Assessment and Interventions in Elective Hip and Knee Arthroplasty: a Detailed Review and Guide to Management.

8.5 to 50% of total joint arthroplasty (TJA) patients are reported to have preoperative malnutrition. The narrative review identifies the relationship between preoperative malnutrition for TJA patients and postoperative outcomes as well as the use of perioperative nutritional intervention to improve postoperative complications. Biochemical/laboratory, anthropometric, and clinical measures have been widely used to identify preoperative nutritional deficiency. Specifically, serum albumin is the most prevalent used marker in TJA because it has been proven to be correlated with protein-energy malnutrition due to the surgical stress response. However, there remains a sustained incidence of preoperative malnutrition in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and total hip arthroplasty (THA) patients due to a lack of agreement among the available nutritional screening tools and utilization of isolated laboratory, anthropometric, and clinical variables. Previous investigations have also suggested preoperative malnutrition to be a prognostic indicator of complications in general, cardiac, vascular, and orthopaedic surgery specialties. Serum albumin, prealbumin, transferrin, and total lymphocyte count (TLC) can be used to identify at-risk patients. It is important to employ these markers in the preoperative setting because malnourished TKA and THA patients have shown to have worse postoperative outcomes including prolonged length, increased reoperation rates, increased infection rates, and increased mortality rates. Although benefits from high-protein and high-anti-inflammatory diets have been exhibited, additional research is needed to confirm the use of perioperative nutritional intervention as an appropriate treatment for preoperative TJA patients.

Social media as a tool for surgical education: a qualitative systematic review.

BackgroundSocial media use has exploded, attaining a significant influence within medicine. Previous studies have denoted the use of social media in various surgical specialties as a means to exchange professional ideas and improve the conference experience and at the same time, some have assessed its feasibility as a method of education. This systematic review aims to characterize the use of social media as a tool for general surgery education.MethodsA systematic review of several databases from each database inception was conducted following the PRISMA guidelines. The JBI’s critical appraisal tools were used to assess quality of the studies.ResultsA total of 861 articles were identified of which 222 were duplicates removed. The titles and abstracts from the remaining 639 abstracts were screened and 589 were excluded. The remaining 51 full articles were analyzed for eligibility, of which 24 met inclusion criteria and were included in the systematic review. These studies covered the general surgery specialty, of which 11 (n = 46%) focused on the laparoscopic surgical approach, 1 (n = 4%) on robotic-assisted surgical procedures, 1 (n = 4%) on both surgical approaches previously mentioned and 11 (n = 46%) on the general surgery specialty regardless of the surgical approach or technique.ConclusionsAdvantages that SM offers should be considered, and content creators and institutions should help collectively to make sure that the content being published is evidence and guideline-based so its use it is taken to the maximum benefit.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00464-022-09150-9.

Role models as a factor influencing career choice among female surgical residents in Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional study

Background and purposeRole models in the medical field are professional and experienced persons whose actions unconsciously inspire juniors to strive to be like them. To our knowledge, no studies have examined whether having a female surgical role model has influenced women to pursue a surgical career in Saudi Arabia. Hence, we sought to evaluate whether identifying role models in surgery influences career choice and defined the ideal qualities of a surgical role model as perceived by newly qualified doctors.MethodsWe employed a cross-sectional, survey- based study design, conducted between June 2020 and January 2021, in which female surgical residents completed a questionnaire about their perceptions and influence of role models in general surgery specialty at the time they pursue a career in surgery.ResultsA total of 51 respondents completed the questionnaire. The majority of them (78.4%) had a role model and (19.6%) indicated that their role model was a female. Of those who had a role model, (67.5%) agreed that they experienced a positive influence on their surgical career choice. Clinical and operation skills were reported as the most remarkable factor to be considered in their role models. Working directly with a male surgical consultant and female surgical residents imprinted a positive influence but this did not reach a statistical significance.ConclusionThe findings of this article contribute empirically to the strong effects of the same-sex role models and highlight the curial role of surgical residents in influencing female’s career choices in general surgery as an achievable and attainable domain. Which encourage the creation of national mentorship programs and exploring more in barriers for pursuing a surgical career.

Comparable Esophagectomy Outcomes by Surgeon Specialty: A NSQIP Analysis.

A few observational studies have found that outcomes after esophagectomies by thoracic surgeons are better than those by general surgeons. Non-emergent esophagectomy cases were identified in the 2016-2017 American College of Surgeons NSQIP database. Associations between patient characteristics and outcomes by thoracic versus general surgeons were evaluated with univariate and multivariate logistic regression. Of 1,606 cases, 886 (55.2%) were performed by thoracic surgeons. Those patients differed from patients treated by general surgeons in race (other/unknown 19.3% vs 7.8%; P<.001) but not in other baseline characteristics (age, sex, BMI, and comorbidities). Thoracic surgeons performed an open approach more frequently (48.9% vs 30.8%, P<.001) and had operative times that were 30minutes shorter (P<.001). General surgeons had lower rates of reoperation (11.8% vs 17.2%; P=.003) and were more likely to treat postoperative leak with interventional means (6.3% vs 3.4%, P=.01). Thoracic surgeons were more likely to treat postoperative leak with reoperation (5.9% vs 3.6%, P=.01). There were no other differences in univariate comparison of outcomes between the two groups, including leak, readmission, and death. General surgery specialty was associated with lower risk of reoperation. Our multivariable model also found no relationship between general surgeon and risk of any complication (odds ratio 1.10; 95% CI .86 to 1.42). In our large, national database study, we found that outcomes of esophagectomies by general surgeons were comparable with those by thoracic surgeons. General surgeons managed postoperative leaks differently than thoracic surgeons.

Acute Care Surgeons Spend More Time than General Surgeons on the Electronic Health Record (EHR).

The paradigm of Acute Care Surgery (ACS) emerged in response to decreasing operative opportunities for trauma surgeons and increasing need for surgical coverage in disciplines to which the expertise of trauma surgeons naturally extends. While the continued evolution of this specialty remains largely beneficial, unintended consequences may have arisen along the way. One aspect of ACS that remains to be thoroughly investigated is the impact of the electronic health record (EHR). The purpose of this study is to objectively quantify EHR usage for ACS and compare it to other general surgery specialties. EHR user data were collected for fifteen ACS attendings and thirty-seven general surgery attendings from October 2014 to September 2019. Comparative analysis was conducted using two-tailed t-tests. Subgroup analysis was conducted for subspecialties included in the general surgery group. ACS attendings opened almost 3 times as many charts as general surgery attendings per month (180 vs 64 charts/month, P < .0001), and ultimately spent more time on the EHR as a result (10 vs 6.4 hours/month, P < .0001). Documentation was the most time consuming EHR task for both groups. Although ACS attendings spent less overall time per patient chart, the proportion of time spent on certain EHR tasks was similar to that of general surgery colleagues. The EHR imposes a disproportionate burden on ACS attendings compared to their general surgery counterparts, and additional study is warranted to improve usage. EHR usage burden has workforce implications for trainees considering a career in ACS.