Teamwork in the time of COVID-19.

Strong and effective clinical teamwork has been shown to improve medical outcomes and reduce medical errors. Incorporating didactic and clinical activities into undergraduate medical education in which students work in teams will develop skills to prepare them to work in clinical teams as they advance through their education and careers. At the Yale School of Medicine, we foster the development of team skills in the classroom through team-based learning (TBL) and in clinical settings with the Interprofessional Longitudinal Clinical Experience (ILCE). Both TBL and ILCE require students work in close physical proximity. The COVID-19 pandemic forced us to immediately adapt our in-person activities to an online format and then develop clinical and interprofessional experiences that adhere to social distancing guidelines. Here we describe our approaches to solving these problems and the experiences of our students and faculty.

A case of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease following cataract surgery: sporadic versus iatrogenic cause.

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) is a fatal neurologic disorder caused by an infectious agent called a human prion protein. CJD can be classified as sporadic CJD, familial CJD, variant CJD, and iatrogenic CJD. We report a 64-year-old man diagnosed with CJD three months after cataract surgery. Although sporadic CJD is the most common type, the patient's cataract surgery elicited the possibility of an iatrogenic transmission. It is important to consider whether visual symptoms are a manifestation of sporadic CJD, rather than cataract surgery resulting in iatrogenic CJD. Preceding cataract surgeries have been reported with CJD, but there is no proven causality. This case highlights consideration of sporadic versus iatrogenic cause when seen in association with cataract surgery.

Back to the basics.

The history and physical examination skills are being replaced by the tools of technology in establishing the actual cause of illness. We present a patient where the history and physical examination were essential in establishing the diagnosis. A 28-year-old female presented to the Emergency Department (ED) with an acute episode of epigastric pain radiating to the back associated with vomiting. Laboratory examinations revealed pancreatitis, imaging showed gallstones and the patient was admitted with the diagnosis of gallstone pancreatitis. A more detailed history and physical examination, however, was notable for a family history of "Mediterranean blood" and abdominal examination demonstrated splenomegaly and laboratory examination showed a microcytic anemia. The recognition of the family history, splenomegaly and microcytic anemia led to the diagnosis of thalassemia as the cause of the gallstone pancreatitis. Clearly, the history was essential in establishing the underlying cause of the problem.

Reporting medical errors to improve patient safety: a survey of physicians in teaching hospitals.

BACKGROUND: Collecting data on medical errors is essential for improving patient safety, but factors affecting error reporting by physicians are poorly understood. METHODS: Survey of faculty and resident physicians in the midwest, mid-Atlantic, and northeast regions of the United States to investigate reporting of actual errors, likelihood of reporting hypothetical errors, attitudes toward reporting errors, and demographic factors. RESULTS: Responses were received from 338 participants (response rate, 74.0%). Most respondents agreed that reporting errors improves the quality of care for future patients (84.3%) and would likely report a hypothetical error resulting in minor (73%) or major (92%) harm to a patient. However, only 17.8% of respondents had reported an actual minor error (resulting in prolonged treatment or discomfort), and only 3.8% had reported an actual major error (resulting in disability or death). Moreover, 16.9% acknowledged not reporting an actual minor error, and 3.8% acknowledged not reporting an actual major error. Only 54.8% of respondents knew how to report errors, and only 39.5% knew what kind of errors to report. Multivariate analyses of answers to hypothetical vignettes showed that willingness to report was positively associated with believing that reporting improves the quality of care, knowing how to report errors, believing in forgiveness, and being a faculty physician (vs a resident). CONCLUSION: Most faculty and resident physicians are inclined to report harm-causing hypothetical errors, but only a minority have actually reported an error.

Disclosing medical errors to patients: attitudes and practices of physicians and trainees.

BACKGROUND: Disclosing errors to patients is an important part of patient care, but the prevalence of disclosure, and factors affecting it, are poorly understood. OBJECTIVE: To survey physicians and trainees about their practices and attitudes regarding error disclosure to patients. DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS: Survey of faculty physicians, resident physicians, and medical students in Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, and Northeast regions of the United States. MEASUREMENTS: Actual error disclosure; hypothetical error disclosure; attitudes toward disclosure; demographic factors. RESULTS: Responses were received from 538 participants (response rate = 77%). Almost all faculty and residents responded that they would disclose a hypothetical error resulting in minor (97%) or major (93%) harm to a patient. However, only 41% of faculty and residents had disclosed an actual minor error (resulting in prolonged treatment or discomfort), and only 5% had disclosed an actual major error (resulting in disability or death). Moreover, 19% acknowledged not disclosing an actual minor error and 4% acknowledged not disclosing an actual major error. Experience with malpractice litigation was not associated with less actual or hypothetical error disclosure. Faculty were more likely than residents and students to disclose a hypothetical error and less concerned about possible negative consequences of disclosure. Several attitudes were associated with greater likelihood of hypothetical disclosure, including the belief that disclosure is right even if it comes at a significant personal cost. CONCLUSIONS: There appears to be a gap between physicians' attitudes and practices regarding error disclosure. Willingness to disclose errors was associated with higher training level and a variety of patient-centered attitudes, and it was not lessened by previous exposure to malpractice litigation.

Medical house officers' attitudes toward vigorous analgesia, terminal sedation, and physician-assisted suicide.

In 2000, the authors surveyed 236 medical house officers in three internal medicine residency programs in Connecticut to assess attitudes toward vigorous analgesia, terminal sedation, and physician-assisted suicide. The goal was to identify associations between these attitudes and training, demographic, and religious factors. The results of the study indicated that most medical house officers supported vigorous analgesia, the majority supported terminal sedation, but only a minority supported physician-assisted suicide. Some house officers' attitudes toward terminal sedation and assisted suicide may have been influenced by their religious commitments and the pressures of training.