"Residents as Teachers" Workshops Designed by Surgery Residents for Surgery Residents.

BACKGROUND: A core tenet of medical education is the expectation that senior residents will teach junior residents and medical students. However, many general surgery residency programs lack a formalized curriculum to equip trainees with necessary teaching skills. We evaluated the impact of resident-led residents-as-teachers (RAT) workshops (RATW) and assessed adaptability from in-person to virtual delivery. We hypothesized these courses would improve trainees' confidence in their roles as resident-teachers. METHODS: Pre-COVID-19, an in-person workshop for residents (PGY1-5) was conducted over two days. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a virtual RATW for incoming interns (PGY1) was conducted during intern boot camp. Topic fidelity was preserved between the two RATWs. Resident-educators were responsible for content and delivery; the program director and associate program directors served as facilitators only. Surveys were used to evaluate residents' confidence in four core topics. A Wilcoxon test was used to compare quantitative data. RESULTS: There was significant improvement in confidence in all areas following RATW attendance, except for "Teaching in the OR". In sub-analysis, there was a significant improvement in this category among incoming interns post-RATW (P < 0.001). The majority of interns agreed that the RATW helped them transition into their new teaching role and agreed that the resident-led RATW was effective. CONCLUSIONS: A resident-designed and resident-led RAT curriculum in general surgery effectively improves residents' confidence in teaching and is well received by residents. We recommend the implementation of a RAT curriculum in general surgery residency and intern boot camp. The RATW was well adapted to distance-learning format.

Implementation and Assessment of Mentoring and Professionalism in Training (MAP-IT): A Humanistic Curriculum as a Tool to Address Burnout in Surgical Residents.

OBJECTIVE: Mentoring and Professionalism in Training (MAP-IT), a humanistic mentorship program, has demonstrated positive impact in non-surgical fields. This study assesses the feasibility of implementing MAP-IT in surgical residency and adapts MAP-IT to include residents-as-teachers (RAT). We hypothesize that MAP-IT will benefit surgical residents by building humanistic teaching skills, increasing resilience, reducing burnout, and improving connectedness. DESIGN: MAP-IT was implemented monthly during protected educational time. Faculty surgeons who had previously completed MAP-IT served as facilitators. Small groups consisted of 12 trainees, two faculty facilitators, and one resident facilitator. Each session comprised 60 minutes of reflection, readings, and discussion surrounding humanistic mentoring skills. The Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS), Connor Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), and Humanistic Teaching Practices Effectiveness Questionnaire (HTPE) were administered before and after participation in MAP-IT. Qualitative interviews and surveys assessed residents' perspectives of the MAP-IT program. SETTING: MAP-IT was implemented at Northwell-North Shore/LIJ in Manhasset, NY in a general surgery residency program hosted by two tertiary care hospitals within a large health system. PARTICIPANTS: 55 residents participated as learners, five residents served as resident-facilitators, and 10 surgical faculty served as paired-facilitators of the MAP-IT course. RESULTS: 31.6% of residents had participated in a reflective medicine curriculum prior to MAP-IT, and these residents reported greater resilience and less burnout. This disparity was eliminated after participation in MAP-IT. Frequency of burnout was reduced from 64.1% to 46.1% after MAP-IT participation. Post-program, residents reported greater effectiveness in humanistic teaching practices when compared to baseline assessments. Quantitative and qualitative feedback demonstrated that MAP-IT was well received by resident participants and addressed a gap in their surgical training. CONCLUSIONS: A humanistic mentorship program involving RAT can be effectively implemented in surgical residency, is well-received by residents, and addresses a need surgical training by building skills and improving resident well-being.

Cleaning Up the MESS: Can Machine Learning Be Used to Predict Lower Extremity Amputation after Trauma-Associated Arterial Injury?

BACKGROUND: Thirty years after the Mangled Extremity Severity Score was developed, advances in vascular, trauma, and orthopaedic surgery have rendered the sensitivity of this score obsolete. A significant number of patients receive amputation during subsequent admissions, which are often missed in the analysis of amputation at the index admission. We aimed to identify risk factors for and predict amputation on initial admission or within 30 days of discharge (peritraumatic amputation [PTA]). STUDY DESIGN: The Nationwide Readmission Database for 2016 and 2017 was used in our analysis. Factors associated with PTA were identified. We used XGBoost, random forest, and logistic regression methods to develop a framework for machine learning-based prediction models for PTA. RESULTS: We identified 1,098 adult patients with traumatic lower extremity fracture and arterial injuries; 206 underwent amputation. One hundred and seventy-six patients (85.4%) underwent amputation during the index admission and 30 (14.6%) underwent amputation within a 30-day readmission period. After identifying factors associated with PTA, we constructed machine learning models based on random forest, XGBoost, and logistic regression to predict PTA. We discovered that logistic regression had the most robust predictive ability, with an accuracy of 0.88, sensitivity of 0.47, and specificity of 0.98. We then built on the logistic regression by the NearMiss algorithm, increasing sensitivity to 0.71, but decreasing accuracy to 0.74 and specificity to 0.75. CONCLUSIONS: Machine learning-based prediction models combined with sampling algorithms (such as the NearMiss algorithm in this study), can help identify patients with traumatic arterial injuries at high risk for amputation and guide targeted intervention in the modern age of vascular surgery.

A rare case of Polyarteritis Nodosa associated with autoimmune hepatitis: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Polyarteritis nodosa is a type of vasculitis affecting medium- and small-sized arteries that has been associated with hepatitis B but does not have an established relationship with autoimmune hepatitis. Here we report the case of an adult patient with autoimmune hepatitis who, shortly after diagnosis, developed life-threatening polyarteritis nodosa. CASE PRESENTATION: A 45-year-old woman was diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis after initially presenting with a two-month history of fatigue, nausea, and anorexia and a three-week history of scleral icterus. Her liver biopsy showed mild portal fibrosis and her liver chemistries improved with prednisone and azathioprine. Three months later, she presented to the emergency department with fever, bilateral ankle pain, rash, oral ulcers, and poor vision. Physical examination was notable for erythema nodosum, anterior uveitis, retinal vasculitis, and frosted branch angiitis (frosted branch angiitis (a widespread florid translucent perivascular exudate). She subsequently developed repeated episodes of ischemic acute bowel necrosis that required multiple surgeries and extensive small bowel resections. Surgical pathology of the small bowel resection revealed ischemic necrosis, medium and small vessel vasculitis with microvascular thrombi consistent with polyarteritis nodosa. Azathioprine was discontinued and she was treated with pulse steroids followed by a prednisone taper, cyclophosphamide, and intravenous immune globulin with overall improvement in her symptomatology. Since her hospitalization, she has been maintained on low-dose prednisone and mycophenolate mofetil. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with recent diagnosis of autoimmune hepatitis, there should be a modest suspicion for concomitant polyarteritis nodosa if symptoms and signs of multisystem vasculitis develop.