Virtual Fracture Care in Long-Term Care Homes Avoiding Emergency Department Visits.

Long-term care residents with suspected fractures as a result of a fall typically transfer to the emergency department (ED) for diagnostic imaging and care. During the COVID-19 pandemic, transfer to the hospital increased the risk of COVID-19 exposure and resulted in extended isolation days for the resident. A fracture care pathway was developed and implemented to provide rapid diagnostic imaging results and stabilization in the care home, reducing transportation and exposure risk to COVID-19. Eligible residents with a stable fracture would receive a referral to a designated fracture clinic for consultation; fracture care is provided in the care home by long-term care staff. Evaluation of the pathway was completed and demonstrated that 100% of residents did not transfer to the ED and 47% of the residents did not transfer to a fracture clinic for additional care.

Co-Learning Curriculum in Quality Improvement for Surgical Residents- Five-Year Experience from the University of Toronto.

OBJECTIVE: We describe our five-year experience with a novel co-learning curriculum in quality improvement (CCQI)1 for the largest reported cohort of surgical residents. The program introduces trainees to principles of quality improvement (QI)2 and empowers them to complete collaborative projects with mentorship from faculty experts. DESIGN: Each iteration consists of three interactive seminars. Residents are required to complete and present a QI project in the third seminar. To assess the impact of the program, graduates of the 2020-2021 iteration were surveyed using validated tools to examine changes in confidence and knowledge of QI principles. SETTING: Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada. PARTICIPANTS: Participation ranged from 57 to 63 residents yearly, from diverse surgical disciplines including General Surgery, Plastic Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynecology, amongst others. Multiple small groups consisted of 4-6 residents from each speciality, mentored by a faculty lead from the same specialty. RESULTS: Approximately 300 first-year surgical residents have participated in the CCQI since 2015, with over 60 completed QI projects. A total of 41(66%) and 51(82%) residents completed the survey in its pre- and post-course administration in 2020-2021, respectively. There was a significant increase in confidence scores with respect to describing a QI issue, building a team, and testing the change, amongst other aspects. There was also a statistically significant increase in mean knowledge scores for both scenarios of the Quality Improvement Knowledge Application Tool. 69% and 73% of residents reported "some improvement" in their knowledge, and confidence in applying QI principles to patient care, respectively. A majority of residents (73%) found the QI curriculum somewhat valuable, with 23% reporting it to be very valuable to their residency and future surgical career. CONCLUSIONS: We describe successful long-term implementation of a novel co-learning curriculum in quality improvement. Residents derive value from this curriculum with a meaningful increase in confidence and knowledge of QI as an integral part of surgical practice.

Feedback Frequency in Competence by Design: A Quality Improvement Initiative.

BACKGROUND: Otolaryngology-head and neck surgery is in the first wave of residency training programs in Canada to adopt Competence by Design (CBD), a model of competency-based medical education. CBD is built on frequent, low-stakes assessments and requires an increase in the number of feedback interactions. The University of Toronto otolaryngology-head and neck surgery residents piloted the CBD model but were completing only 1 assessment every 4 weeks, which was insufficient to support CBD. OBJECTIVE: This project aimed to increase assessment completion to once per resident per week using quality improvement methodology. METHODS: Stakeholder engagement activities had residents and faculty characterize barriers to assessment completion. Brief electronic assessment forms were completed by faculty on residents' personal mobile devices in face-to-face encounters, and the number completed per resident was tracked for 10 months during the 2016-2017 pilot year. Response to the intervention was analyzed using statistical process control charts. RESULTS: The first bundled intervention-a rule set dictating which clinical instance should be assessed, combined with a weekly reminder implemented for 10 weeks-was unsuccessful in increasing the frequency of assessments. The second intervention was a leaderboard, designed on an audit-and-feedback system, which sent weekly comparison e-mails of each resident's completion rate to all residents and the program director. The leaderboard demonstrated significant improvement from baseline over 10 weeks, increasing the assessment completion rate from 0.22 to 2.87 assessments per resident per week. CONCLUSIONS: A resident-designed audit-and-feedback leaderboard system improved the frequency of CBD assessment completion.

Choosing Words Wisely: Residents' Use of Rhetorical Appeals in Conversations About Unnecessary Tests.

PURPOSE: To characterize how residents employ rhetorical appeals (i.e., the strategic use of communication to achieve specifiable goals) when discussing unnecessary diagnostic tests with patients. METHOD: In 2015, senior hematology residents from 10 Canadian universities participating in a national formative objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) completed a resource stewardship communication station. In this communication scenario, a standardized patient (SP) portrayed a patient requesting unnecessary thrombophilia testing following early pregnancy loss. The authors performed a thematic analysis of audio transcripts using a qualitative description approach to identify residents' rhetorical appeals to logic (rational appeals), credibility, and emotion. RESULTS: For persuasive communication, residents (n = 27) relied primarily on rational appeals that fit into 3 categories (with themes) focused on medical evidence (poor utility, professional guidelines and recommendations), avoidance of harm (insurance implications, unnecessary or potentially harmful interventions, patient anxiety), and reassurance to patient (normalizing, clinical pretest probability, criteria for reconsidering testing). Appeals to credibility and emotion were rarely used. CONCLUSIONS: In an OSCE setting, residents relied predominantly on rational appeals when engaging SPs in conversations about unnecessary tests. These observations yield insights into how recent emphasis within residency education on appropriate test utilization may manifest when residents put recommendations into practice in conversations with patients. This study's framework of rational appeals may be helpful in designing communication curricula about unnecessary testing. Future studies should explore rhetoric about unnecessary testing in the clinical environment, strategies to teach and coach residents leading these conversations, and patients' preferences and responses to different appeals.

Vision to improve: quality improvement in ophthalmology.

Improving quality of care and patient outcomes is a professional duty of all health care workers. Quality improvement is a part of health policy, an accreditation requirement of residency programs, and a recognized sub-specialty in academic medicine. Given the increasing need for ophthalmological services with our aging population, it is critical for ophthalmologists and their staff to develop the necessary skills in quality improvement to ensure access to care that is safe, patient-centered, effective, efficient, equitable, and timely. This narrative review outlines tools that are used in a recognized framework, including the creation of an aim statement, Ishikawa diagram, Pareto analysis, process maps, Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles, and run charts. We also discuss common challenges that occur when conducting quality initiatives. Two quality improvement projects conducted in the Department of Ophthalmology at University of Toronto are used as examples to illustrate these tools. The aim of the first project was to improve visual field test reliability and the aim of the second was to ensure secure email communication between residents and staff in caring for emergency patients. This primer provides the foundations ophthalmologists and their staff can use to support and guide their quality improvement efforts.

Characterizing Resident Preferences for Faculty Involvement and Support in Disclosing Medical Errors to Patients.

BACKGROUND: Residents may be commonly involved with medical errors and need faculty support when disclosing these to patients. OBJECTIVE: We characterized residents' preferences for faculty involvement and support during the error disclosure process. METHODS: We surveyed residents from internal medicine, pediatrics, emergency medicine, general and orthopedic surgery, and obstetrics and gynecology residency programs at the University of Toronto in 2014-2015 about their preferences for faculty involvement across a variety of different error scenarios (ie, error type, severity, and proximity) and for elements of support they perceive to be most helpful during the disclosure process. RESULTS: Over 90% of the 192 respondents (N = 538, response rate 36%) wanted direct involvement in the error disclosure process, irrespective of type or severity of the error. Residents were relatively comfortable disclosing prescription and communication errors without direct faculty involvement but preferred faculty involvement when disclosing diagnostic and management errors. When errors were severe, many residents still wanted to be involved but preferred having faculty lead the disclosure. Residents particularly wanted to participate in the process when they felt responsible for the error. Residents highly valued receiving faculty advice on how to manage consequences and how to prevent future errors in preparing for disclosure, as well as receiving postdisclosure feedback and personal support. CONCLUSIONS: Residents are willing participants in the error disclosure process and have specific preferences for faculty involvement and support. These findings can inform faculty development to ensure appropriate support and supervision for residents when disclosing errors to patients.

Communicating wisely: teaching residents to communicate effectively with patients and caregivers about unnecessary tests.

BACKGROUND: With rising healthcare costs and a focus on quality, there is a growing need to promote resource stewardship in medical education. Physicians need to be able to communicate effectively with patients/caregivers seeking tests and treatments that are unnecessary. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of an interactive workshop on residents' knowledge of resource stewardship and communication skills when counseling patients/caregivers about requests for unnecessary testing. METHODS: Participants were 83 Internal Medicine and Pediatrics residents at the University of Toronto in 2014-15. The evaluation compared resource stewardship knowledge and communication skills of 57 (69%) residents that attended the resource stewardship workshop to 26 residents (31%) who did not. Knowledge and communication skills assessment consisted of a written test and a structured assessment using standardized patient raters, respectively. A linear regression was applied to determine predictors of overall communication skills performance. RESULTS: Workshop attendance resulted in better performance on the knowledge test (4.3 ± 1.9 vs. 3.1 ± 1.7 out of 8, p = 0.01), but not better performance on the communication skills assessment (4.1 ± 0.8 vs. 4.0 ± 0.9 out of 5, p = 0.56). Higher training level (p = 0.01) and knowledge test scores (p = 0.046) were independent predictors of better overall communication skills, after adjusting for gender, training level, workshop attendance, knowledge and self-reported prior feedback on communication skills. CONCLUSIONS: An interactive workshop can improve knowledge of resource stewardship, but improving communication skills with patients/caregivers about unnecessary testing may require additional training or reinforcement in the clinical learning environment. These teaching and assessment approaches can support the integration of education on resource stewardship into medical education.

Learning Through Experience: Influence of Formal and Informal Training on Medical Error Disclosure Skills in Residents.

BACKGROUND: Residents' attitudes toward error disclosure have improved over time. It is unclear whether this has been accompanied by improvements in disclosure skills. OBJECTIVE: To measure the disclosure skills of internal medicine (IM), paediatrics, and orthopaedic surgery residents, and to explore resident perceptions of formal versus informal training in preparing them for disclosure in real-world practice. METHODS: We assessed residents' error disclosure skills using a structured role play with a standardized patient in 2012-2013. We compared disclosure skills across programs using analysis of variance. We conducted a multiple linear regression, including data from a historical cohort of IM residents from 2005, to investigate the influence of predictor variables on performance: training program, cohort year, and prior disclosure training and experience. We conducted a qualitative descriptive analysis of data from semistructured interviews with residents to explore resident perceptions of formal versus informal disclosure training. RESULTS: In a comparison of disclosure skills for 49 residents, there was no difference in overall performance across specialties (4.1 to 4.4 of 5, P = .19). In regression analysis, only the current cohort was significantly associated with skill: current residents performed better than a historical cohort of 42 IM residents (P < .001). Qualitative analysis identified the importance of both formal (workshops, morbidity and mortality rounds) and informal (role modeling, debriefing) activities in preparation for disclosure in real-world practice. CONCLUSIONS: Residents across specialties have similar skills in disclosure of errors. Residents identified role modeling and a strong local patient safety culture as key facilitators for disclosure.

Understanding the effect of resident duty hour reform: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Concern surrounding the effect of resident fatigue on patient care recently led the National Steering Committee on Resident Duty Hours to publish Canadian recommendations suggesting that duty periods of 24 or more consecutive hours without restorative sleep should be avoided. We sought to characterize how different training programs are preparing for the effect of such changes on education, patient care and provider well-being. METHODS: Using constructivist grounded theory methodology, we conducted 18 one-on-one semistructured interviews with program directors, division directors and department chiefs from 11 residency programs affiliated with one Canadian medical school. We gathered and analyzed data iteratively until we reached theoretical saturation. RESULTS: The key theme articulated by our participants was that changes in resident duty hours would potentially lead to gaps in the provision of clinical care. These changes affect acute care specialties based primarily in the inpatient setting (e.g., medicine, surgery) more than primarily ambulatory (e.g., family medicine) or shift-model based (e.g., emergency) specialties. Potential strategies to address gaps in clinical care include resident-based solutions, faculty-based solutions and solutions based on other providers (e.g., nonacademic physicians, physician extenders). Each solution has unique advantages and disadvantages in terms of education, continuity of care, preparedness for practice and provider well-being. INTERPRETATION: Our data-driven framework serves as a guide for programs to anticipate challenges of satisfying clinical care needs in the face of changes to resident duty hours, while balancing education, care continuity, preparedness for practice and provider well-being. Our findings challenge the "one-size-fits-all" approach to changes to resident duty hours and endorse flexibility in enacting duty hour regulations based on specialty-specific factors.

Teaching medical error disclosure to physicians-in-training: a scoping review.

PURPOSE: This scoping review identified published studies of error disclosure curricula targeting physicians-in-training (residents or medical students). METHOD: In 2011, the authors searched electronic databases (e.g., MEDLINE, EMBASE, ERIC) for eligible studies published between 1960 and July 2011. From the studies that met their inclusion criteria, they extracted and summarized key aspects of each curriculum (e.g., level of learner, program discipline) and educational features (e.g., curriculum design, teaching and assessment methods, and learner outcomes). RESULTS: The authors identified 21 studies that met their inclusion criteria. These studies described 19 error disclosure curricula, which were either a stand-alone educational activity, part of a larger curriculum in patient safety or communication skills, or part of simulation training. Most curricula consisted of a brief, single encounter, combining didactic lectures or small-group discussions with role-play. Fourteen studies described learners' self-reported improvements in knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Five studies used a structured assessment and reported that learners' error disclosure skills improved after completing the curriculum; however, these studies were limited by their small to medium sample size and lack of assessment of skills retention. Attempts to assess the change in learners' error disclosure behavior in the clinical context were limited. CONCLUSIONS: Studies of existing error disclosure curricula demonstrate improvements in learners' knowledge, skills, and attitudes. A greater emphasis is needed on the more rigorous assessment of skills acquisition and behavior change to determine whether formal training leads to long-term effects on learner outcomes that translate into real-world clinical practice.

Teaching dermatology to internal medicine residents: needs assessment survey and possible directions.

BACKGROUND: Internal medicine trainees receive limited teaching and training in dermatology and may feel inadequately prepared to assess and manage patients with dermatologic complaints. No study to date has assessed the needs of internal medicine trainees in Canada with regard to dermatology teaching. OBJECTIVE: To determine internal medicine residents' comfort in assessing and managing dermatologic issues and their educational needs in dermatology. METHODS: An electronic survey was conducted of first-, second-, and third-year internal medicine residents at the University of Toronto. RESULTS: Fifty-four of 186 internal medicine trainees responded to our survey (response rate  =  29%). Each respondent did not answer every question. Residents were generally uncomfortable or very uncomfortable assessing and managing dermatologic issues in the emergency department (40 of 47, 85%), ward or intensive care unit (39 of 47, 83%), and ambulatory clinic (40 of 47, 85%). Residents thought that various clinical and didactic dermatology exposures would be useful to their training as internists. Case-based teaching and ambulatory clinical rotations were felt to be particularly valuable. Additionally, 38 of 46 (83%) respondents wanted to learn how to perform punch biopsies. CONCLUSIONS: An effort should be made to increase the availability of relevant dermatology teaching and clinical exposures for internal medicine residents.

Getting the message: a quality improvement initiative to reduce pages sent to the wrong physician.

BACKGROUND: One in seven pages are sent to the wrong physician and may result in unnecessary delays that potentially threaten patient safety. The authors aimed to implement a new team-based paging process to reduce pages sent to the wrong physician. METHODS: The authors redesigned the paging process on general internal medicine (GIM) wards at a Canadian academic medical centre by implementing a standardised team-based paging process (pages directed to one physician responsible for receiving pages on behalf of the entire physician team) using rapid-cycle change methods. The authors evaluated the intervention using a controlled before-after study design by measuring pages sent to the wrong physician before and after implementation of the redesigned paging process. RESULTS: Pages sent to the wrong physician from the GIM (intervention) wards decreased from 14% to 3% (11% reduction), while pages sent to the wrong physician from control wards fell from 13% to 7% (6% reduction). The difference between the intervention wards and the control wards was significant (5% greater reduction in the intervention group compared with the control group, p=0.008). Nurses were more satisfied with team-based paging than the existing paging process. Team-based paging may, however, introduce changes in communication workflow that lead to increased paging interruptions for certain members of the physician team. CONCLUSIONS: The authors successfully redesigned the hospital's paging process to decrease pages sent to the wrong physician. They recommend that the frequency of pages sent to the wrong physician is measured and changes be implemented to paging processes to reduce this error.