Enhancing communication between foundation doctors and radiologists: a quality improvement project.

Facilitating radiological imaging for patients is an essential task for foundation year (FY) doctors. Achieving competence in this task can significantly enhance patient management. We evaluated the confidence and skills of FY doctors in facilitating radiological imaging before and after introduction of formal training. Twenty surgical FYs working at a large teaching hospital were surveyed to evaluate their baseline level of competence in booking and discussing imaging with radiology colleagues. Parameters were measured on a Likert scale, including confidence in discussing requests and satisfaction of their own performance following discussions with radiologists. Eight radiology consultants were surveyed to evaluate their opinions on FYs' communication and established areas for improvement. A teaching session was then delivered to improve communication skills. Furthermore, Previous investigation results, Answer you need from the scan, Clinical status and story, Crucial: how urgent is the scan, Safety (PACCSS) poster was introduced to remind the FYs of the salient information required when discussing imaging. One month after the intervention, the initial participants were resurveyed. Based on a 10-point Likert scale, the FYs demonstrated a mean improvement in self-reported confidence (2.1±1.1, p<0.01), and in satisfaction of own performance after a discussion (1.7±1.1, p<0.01). We identified deficiencies in surgical FY doctors' confidence and skills in facilitating radiological imaging. There was a demonstrable benefit with focused training in improving these skills. This could potentially provide significant benefits in patient care and management. Interspecialty communication should be introduced into undergraduate and postgraduate educational curriculum.

Surgical Residents' Perspective on Informed Consent-How Does It Compare With Attending Surgeons?

BACKGROUND: The informed consent discussion (ICD) is a compulsory element of clinical practice. Surgical residents are often tasked with obtaining informed consent, but formal instruction is not included in standard curricula. This study aims to examine attitudes of surgeons and residents concerning ICD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A survey regarding ICD was administered to residents and attending surgeons at an academic medical center with an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-accredited general surgery residency. RESULTS: In total, 44 of 64 (68.75%) residents and 37 of 50 (72%) attending surgeons participated. Most residents felt comfortable consenting for elective (93%) and emergent (82%) cases, but attending surgeons were less comfortable with resident-led ICD (51% elective, 73% emergent). Resident comfort increased with postgraduate year (PGY) (PGY1 = 39%, PGY5 = 85%). A majority of participants (80% attending surgeons, 73% residents) believed resident ICD skills should be formally evaluated, and most residents in PGY1 (61%) requested formal instruction. High percentages of residents (86%) and attendings (100%) believed that ICD skills were best learned from direct observation of attending surgeons. CONCLUSIONS: Resident comfort with ICD increases as residents advance through training. Residents acknowledge the importance of their participation in this process, and in particular, junior residents believe formal instruction is important. Attending surgeons are not universally comfortable with resident-led ICDs, particularly for elective surgeries. Efforts for improving ICD education including direct observation between attending surgeons and residents and formal evaluation may benefit the residency curriculum.

Standardization improves postoperative patient handoff experience for junior clinicians.

OBJECTIVES: Effective communication among health care providers is critically important for patient safety. Handoff of patient care from the operating room (OR) to the intensive care unit (ICU) is particularly prone to errors. The process is more complicated in an academic environment in which junior clinicians are being trained. Standardization of, and training in, transitions of care can be a crucial means to improve patient safety. STUDY DESIGN: Pre- and postintervention surveys of health care providers. METHODS: Based on a workflow analysis and qualitative needs assessments, we developed a 3-step protocol to standardize the handoff of care from the OR to the ICU for adult patients after cardiac surgery and to provide an effective learning environment. The process starts during surgery, continues when the patient leaves the OR, and concludes with the actual face-to-face transfer of care between providers, at the bedside, in the ICU. We conducted pre- and postimplementation surveys among physician trainees and nursing staff regarding their perception of the handoff process. RESULTS: We surveyed 42 clinicians before and 33 after implementation of the handoff process. Prior to implementation, most clinicians expressed a need to improve the current process; this perceived need was significantly greater in health care professionals with 4 or fewer years of experience. Post implementation, clinicians saw a significant improvement in information provided, efficiency, relevance to patient care, and psychological safety, a concept in which participants feel accepted and respected in a group setting without fear of negative consequences or judgement. CONCLUSIONS: Our workflow-oriented, standardized process for handoff of care from the OR to the ICU can improve perceived communication and psychological safety, especially for junior clinicians.

Clinical assessment of emotions in patients with cancer: Diagnostic accuracy compared with two reference standards.

BACKGROUND: Previous research has suggested that clinical assessment of emotions in patients with cancer is suboptimal. However, it is a possibility that well-trained and experienced doctors and nurses do recognize emotions but that they do not evaluate all emotions as necessitating professional mental health care. This implies that the sensitivity of clinical assessment should be tested against the need for professional mental health care as reference standard, instead of emotional distress. We hypothesized that the observed sensitivity of clinical assessment of emotions would be higher when tested against need for professional mental health care as reference standard, compared with emotional distress as reference standard. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A consecutive series of patients starting with chemotherapy were recruited during their routine clinical care, at a department of medical oncology. Clinical assessment of emotions by medical oncologists and nurses was derived from the patient file. Emotional distress and need for professional mental health care were assessed using the Distress Thermometer and Problem List. RESULTS: Clinical assessment resulted in notes on emotions in 42.2% of the patient files with 36.2% of patients experiencing emotional distress and 10.8% expressing a need for professional mental health care (N = 185). As expected, the sensitivity of clinical assessment of emotions was higher with the reference standard "need for professional mental health care" compared with "emotional distress" (P < .001). For specificity, equivalent results were obtained with the two reference standards (P = .63). CONCLUSIONS: Clinical assessment of emotions in patients with cancer may be more accurate than previously concluded.

Intubation with channeled versus non-channeled video laryngoscopes in simulated difficult airway by junior doctors in an out-of-hospital setting: A crossover manikin study.

Failure to secure the airway is an important cause of morbidity and mortality during resuscitations. We compared the rate of successful intubation of the King Vision™ aBlade™ channeled and non-channeled video laryngoscopes, and McGRATH™ MAC video laryngoscope when used by junior doctors to intubate a simulated difficult airway in an out-of-hospital setting. 105 junior doctors were recruited in a crossover study to perform tracheal intubation with the three video laryngoscopes on a simulated difficult airway using the SimMan® 3G manikin. Primary outcome was the rate of successful intubations. Secondary outcomes were time-to-visualization, time-to-intubation and ease of use. Rates of successful intubations were higher for King Vision channeled and McGrath compared to the King Vision non-channeled (85.7% and 82.9% respectively versus 24.8%; p<0.001). Amongst the participants who had successful intubations, King Vision channeled and McGrath had shorter mean time-to-intubation compared to the King Vision non-channeled (41.3±20.3s and 38.5±18.7s respectively versus 53.8±23.8s, p<0.004;). There was no significant difference in the rate of successful intubation and mean time-to-intubation between King Vision channeled and McGrath. The King Vision channeled and McGrath video laryngoscopes demonstrated superior intubation success rates compared to King Vision non-channeled laryngoscope when used by junior doctors for intubating simulated difficult airway in an out-of-hospital setting. We postulated that the presence of a guidance channel in the King Vision channeled laryngoscope and the familiarity of the blade curvature and handling of the McGrath could have accounted for their improved intubation success rates.

General practice registrars' use of dermoscopy: Prevalence, associations and influence on diagnosis and confidence.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Dermoscopy increases accuracy for melanoma diagnosis by trained primary care physicians. We aimed to establish prevalence of dermatoscope use by general practice registrars, and identify factors associated with dermatoscope use and the implications of dermatoscope use for diagnosis and confidence in diagnosis. METHOD: This was a cross-sectional study nested within the Registrar Clinical Encounters in Training (ReCEnT) project, an ongoing multi-site cohort study of general practice registrars' consultations. The study was conducted during two six-monthly rounds of ReCEnT data collection in four regional training providers in 2014. RESULTS: Forty-nine per cent of registrars reported having dermoscopy training. Dermoscopy was used in 61% of consultations involving skin or pigmented lesion checks. Dermatoscope use changed provisional diagnosis in 22% of instances and increased diagnostic confidence in 55%. DISCUSSION: Dermoscopy is performed by general practice registrars in a modest proportion of skin and pigmented lesion checks. Its use influences registrars' diagnoses and increases their confidence in their diagnoses.

A mixed-methods examination of the nature and frequency of medical error among junior doctors.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: To examine junior doctors' experience and perceptions of medical errors in which they had been involved. STUDY DESIGN: A mixed-methods design, consisting of an error survey and critical incident technique (CIT) interviews, was used. The survey asked doctors in the first year of postgraduate training in Ireland whether they had made a medical error that had 'played on (their) mind', and if so, to identify factors that had contributed to the error. The participants in the CIT interviews were asked to describe a medical error in which they had been involved. RESULTS: A total of 201 out of 332 (60.5%) respondents to the survey reported making an error that 'played on their mind'. 'Individual factors' were the most commonly identified group of factors (188/201; 93.5%), with 'high workload' (145/201; 72.1%) the most commonly identified contributory factor. Of the 28 CIT interviews which met the criteria for analysis, 'situational factors' (team, staff, task characteristics, and service user factors) were the most commonly identified group of contributory factors (24/28; 85.7%). A total of eight of the interviews were judged by subject matter experts (n=8) to be of medium risk to patients, and 20 to be of high-risk to patients. A significantly larger proportion of high-risk scenarios were attributed to 'local working conditions' than the medium-risk scenarios. CONCLUSIONS: There is a need to prepare junior doctors to manage, and cope with, medical error and to ensure that healthcare professionals are adequately supported throughout their careers.

Ward round competences in surgery and psychiatry - a comparative multidisciplinary interview study.

BACKGROUND: The ward round is a key element in everyday hospital inpatient care irrespective of the medical speciality. The underperformance in conducting ward rounds of junior clinicians has already been described. Therefore, necessary skills and competences of clinicians need to be defined, taught and delivered for curricular instruction. In addition to published data on ward round competences in internal medicine this study aims to determine the common competences for surgical and psychiatric ward rounds in order to find differences depending on the speciality. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews with surgical (N = 30) and psychiatric ward staff (N = 30) of a university hospital and five community hospitals were conducted. Competences necessary for performing ward rounds as well as structural aspects were identified by systematic content analysis and frequency analysis, supported by adequate statistics. RESULTS: Relevant competences for both fields are: collaborative clinical reasoning, communication with the patient and the team, organization, teamwork, management of difficult situations, self-management, error-management, teaching, empathy, nonverbal communication, patient-management and professionalism. Clinical skills were mentioned more often in surgical interviews, while nonverbal communication was described more often in psychiatric interviews. Empathy and communication with the team were more frequently attributed to psychiatric residents. CONCLUSION: The competences which were identified as necessary for conducting a ward round in surgery and psychiatry are similar and correspond to previously reported competences in internal medicine. Clinical skills are of greater importance in surgery than in psychiatry. Concerning empathy and nonverbal communication, further research is needed to determine whether they are of minor importance in surgery or whether there is a lack of awareness of these competences.

Cardiac Intensive Care Units: What Should Be the Standard of Care?

Since the creation of intensive care units (ICU) in the early 1960s, the central question of how to operate and staff them has continued to be an ongoing discussion. Early studies demonstrated decreased morality when staffing was altered from remote providers to full-time on-site providers. In addition to the shift towards full-time onsite providers, the structure of daily care has also undergone significant paradigm changes. Several studies have revealed the importance and benefit of multidisciplinary rounds with direct and open communication of daily goals. Particularly for cardiac patients in shock, two recent studies have provided hard data demonstrating a significant decrease in mortality in ICUs with full-time onsite providers. This benefit was even more pronounced for patients supported with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. These data support the practice of intensive care with (1) full-time onsite provider staffing, (2) multidisciplinary rounds, and (3) a safe environment with open communication between team members.

Infectious disease consultations in a Japanese tertiary care teaching hospital: a retrospective review of 508 cases.

OBJECTIVE: Limited epidemiological data are available at tertiary care teaching hospitals in Japan. We reviewed infectious disease (ID) consultations in a tertiary acute care teaching hospital in Japan. METHODS: This is a retrospective review of the ID consultations from October 2016 to December 2017. The demographic data, such as requesting department, consultation wards, and final diagnosis, were analyzed. RESULTS: There were 508 ID consultations during the 15-month study period. Among the 508 consultations, 201 cases (39.6%) were requested from the internal medicine department and 307 cases (60.4%) were requested from departments other than internal medicine. The most frequent requesting departments were Surgery (n = 102, 20.1%), Pulmonary Medicine (n = 41, 8.1%), and Plastic Surgery (n = 35, 6.7%). The most common diagnoses were intra-abdominal (n = 81, 16.0%), respiratory (n = 62, 12.2%), and skin and soft tissue infections (n = 59, 11.6%). ID consultations for disease diagnosis and management were more frequent in the internal medicine group than in the non-internal medicine group (37 cases, 20.8% vs. 40 cases, 13.7%, p = 0.046), and the number of requests for consultations for noninfectious diseases at the time of final diagnosis was higher in the internal medicine group than in the non-internal medicine group (21 cases, 11.8% vs. 16 cases, 5.5%, p = 0.0153). CONCLUSION: Some physicians prefer ID specialists to identify and solve various medical problems. Internists had a greater tendency to request consultations for diagnostic problems, and noninfectious disease specialists have more requests for consultation at the point of final diagnosis. The role of ID specialists is expanding, from individual patient management to antibiotic stewardship, antibiotic prophylaxis, and development of and adherence to antibiotic protocol implementation based on the hospital's microbial susceptibility and infection control. Although the number of specialists is limited in Japan, ID services now play an important role for achieving a good outcome in patient management.

Bridging the gap to effective feedback in residency training: perceptions of trainees and teachers.

BACKGROUND: Clinical feedback is an important part of residency training, yet literature suggests this complex interaction is not completely understood. In particular, little is known about what resident versus attending physicians expect as feedback. This study investigates this gap in knowledge by examining differences in interactions that residents and attendings view as feedback. METHODS: Surveys containing sample clinical feedback scenarios were distributed to residents and attending physicians in emergency medicine and general surgery at a large academic medical center. Respondents were asked to decide whether useful feedback was provided in each scenario, and responses were compared between the two groups. Continuous features were summarized with medians, interquartile ranges (IQRs), and ranges; categorical features were summarized with frequency counts and percentages. Comparisons of features between residents and attendings were evaluated using Wilcoxon rank sum, chi-square, and Fisher exact tests. Statistical analyses were performed using version 9.4 of the SAS software package (SAS Institute, Inc.; Cary, NC). All tests were two-sided and p-values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Seventy-two individuals responded to the survey out of approximately 110 invitations sent (65%), including 35 (49%) residents and 37 (51%) attendings. Of 35 residents, 31 indicated their level of training, which included 13 (42%) PGY-1, 9 (29%) PGY-2, 6 (19%) PGY-3, and 3 (10%) PGY-4, respectively. Of 37 attendings, 34 indicated the number of years since completion of residency or last fellowship, at a median of 9 years (IQR 4-14; range 1-31). No significant difference was found in residents' and attendings' perceptions of what constituted feedback in the sample scenarios. CONCLUSIONS: While this study did not find a statistical difference in perception of feedback between residents and attendings, additional factors should be considered when investigating perceived feedback deficiencies. Further research is needed to better understand and improve the clinical feedback process.

Guidelines for hospital privileges in vascular surgery and endovascular interventions: Recommendations of the Society for Vascular Surgery.

The Hospital Privileges Practice Guideline Writing Group of the Society for Vascular Surgery is making the following five recommendations concerning guidelines for hospital privileges for vascular surgery and endovascular therapy. Advanced endovascular procedures are currently entrenched in the everyday practice of specialized vascular interventionalists, including vascular surgeons, but open vascular surgery remains uniquely essential to the specialty. First, we endorse the Residency Review Committee for Surgery recommendations regarding open and endovascular cases during vascular residency and fellowship training. Second, applicants for new hospital privileges wishing to perform vascular surgery should have completed an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-accredited vascular surgery residency or fellowship or American Osteopathic Association-accredited training program before 2020 and should obtain American Board of Surgery certification in vascular surgery or American Osteopathic Association certification within 7 years of completion of their training. Third, we recommend that applicants for renewal of hospital privileges in vascular surgery include physicians who are board certified in vascular surgery, general surgery, or cardiothoracic surgery. These physicians with an established practice in vascular surgery should participate in Maintenance of Certification programs as established by the American Board of Surgery and maintain their respective board certification. Fourth, we provide recommendations concerning guidelines for endovascular procedures for vascular surgeons and other vascular interventionalists who are applying for new or renewed hospital privileges. All physicians performing open or endovascular procedures should track outcomes using nationally validated registries, ideally by the Vascular Quality Initiative. Fifth, we endorse the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission recommendations for noninvasive vascular laboratory interpretations and examinations to become a Registered Physician in Vascular Interpretation, which is included in the requirements for board eligibility in vascular surgery, but recommend that only physicians with demonstrated clinical experience in the diagnosis and management of vascular disease be allowed to interpret these studies.

Comparison of Complications and Surgical Outcomes of Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis Between Junior Attending Surgeons and Senior Attending Surgeons.

BACKGROUND: To our knowledge, few studies have compared complications and surgical outcomes of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) between junior attending surgeons and senior attending surgeons. OBJECTIVES: To compare surgical strategies, complications, and outcomes of posterior corrective surgery for AIS between junior attending surgeons and senior attending surgeons. METHODS: According to experience level of operation surgeons, the patients were assigned to 2 groups. Group A was the "junior surgeon" group. Group B was the "senior surgeon" group. The following parameters were compared between the 2 groups: age, sex, diagnosis, hospital of record, surgeon experience level, type of instrumentation, type of screws, estimated blood loss, duration of surgery, length of fusion, correction techniques, main curve correction, and thoracic kyphosis correction. RESULTS: A total of 132 patients with AIS were included in group A, whereas 207 were in group B. The translational technique was used more often in group A (P < 0.05). whereas the derotation technique was used more often in group B (P < 0.05). Senior surgeons used more monoaxial screws than junior surgeons (P < 0.05). The junior group had significantly greater estimated blood loss than the senior group (P < 0.05). The senior group had significant better correction rates of severe main curve (>70°) and thoracic kyphosis than the junior group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Senior attending surgeons outperformed junior surgeons in blood loss control, thoracic kyphosis correction, and correction of severe curves.

Coding Discrepancies Between Medical Student and Physician Documentation.

OBJECTIVE: Accurate medical documentation is a core competency in medical education and is critical to successful surgical practice. The following study aims to assess the coding accuracy of medical student documentation. DESIGN: Retrospective chart review identified patient encounters in a surgery clinic that contained documentation by both a faculty member and a third-year medical student. Records were de-identified and assigned a level of service (LOS) and diagnostic code by trained, expert coders. Differences in LOS and diagnostic code were then compared between medical student and faculty documentation. SETTING: A single academic health system. PARTICIPANTS: Third-year medical students. RESULTS: 80 full patient evaluations and 20 postoperative visits were analyzed. Median faculty and student LOS was 4 (range 3-4) and 3 (range 0-4) respectively (p < 0.001). Students failed to document a sufficient number of elements in the evaluation, failed to specify studies ordered, and documented low medical decision making. Diagnostic code was concordant between students and faculty for only 31% of documentation. CONCLUSION: Student documentation of clinical encounters is coded at a lower LOS than faculty documentation. These results likely reflect the lack of education regarding E/M coding in medical school, which is integral to real world practice. SUMMARY: Accurate medical documentation is critical to the correct diagnostic coding and billing of a medical encounter. We found that compared to faculty documentation of the same patient evaluations, student documentation was typically coded at a lower level of service and assigned a different diagnostic code by professional medical coders. Addressing these topics in medical school may better prepare students for real-world practice.

Pediatric Anesthesiology Fellows' Perception of Quality of Attending Supervision and Medical Errors.

BACKGROUND: Appropriate supervision has been shown to reduce medical errors in anesthesiology residents and other trainees across various specialties. Nonetheless, supervision of pediatric anesthesiology fellows has yet to be evaluated. The main objective of this survey investigation was to evaluate supervision of pediatric anesthesiology fellows in the United States. We hypothesized that there was an indirect association between perceived quality of faculty supervision of pediatric anesthesiology fellow trainees and the frequency of medical errors reported. METHODS: A survey of pediatric fellows from 53 pediatric anesthesiology fellowship programs in the United States was performed. The primary outcome was the frequency of self-reported errors by fellows, and the primary independent variable was supervision scores. Questions also assessed barriers for effective faculty supervision. RESULTS: One hundred seventy-six pediatric anesthesiology fellows were invited to participate, and 104 (59%) responded to the survey. Nine of 103 (9%, 95% confidence interval [CI], 4%-16%) respondents reported performing procedures, on >1 occasion, for which they were not properly trained for. Thirteen of 101 (13%, 95% CI, 7%-21%) reported making >1 mistake with negative consequence to patients, and 23 of 104 (22%, 95% CI, 15%-31%) reported >1 medication error in the last year. There were no differences in median (interquartile range) supervision scores between fellows who reported >1 medication error compared to those reporting ≤1 errors (3.4 [3.0-3.7] vs 3.4 [3.1-3.7]; median difference, 0; 99% CI, -0.3 to 0.3; P = .96). Similarly, there were no differences in those who reported >1 mistake with negative patient consequences, 3.3 (3.0-3.7), compared with those who did not report mistakes with negative patient consequences (3.4 [3.3-3.7]; median difference, 0.1; 99% CI, -0.2 to 0.6; P = .35). CONCLUSIONS: We detected a high rate of self-reported medication errors in pediatric anesthesiology fellows in the United States. Interestingly, fellows' perception of quality of faculty supervision was not associated with the frequency of reported errors. The current results with a narrow CI suggest the need to evaluate other potential factors that can be associated with the high frequency of reported errors by pediatric fellows (eg, fatigue, burnout). The identification of factors that lead to medical errors by pediatric anesthesiology fellows should be a main research priority to improve both trainee education and best practices of pediatric anesthesia.

Analysis of abbreviations used by residents in admission notes and discharge summaries.

BACKGROUND: There are abbreviations that are used daily such as BP for blood pressure and ECG for electrocardiogram, but many of the abbreviations found in medical documents are unclear. AIM: The purpose of this study was to assess the frequency, type and comprehension of abbreviations in admission notes and discharge letters composed by orthopedic surgery and medical residents. METHODS: Abbreviations were extracted from discharge letters and admission notes composed by residents from orthopedic surgery and medical wards. The frequency of use of the abbreviations was determined. Additionally, the fifty commonest abbreviations from each specialty were graded by three medical and three orthopedic surgery senior physicians as 1. understandable or 2. Ambiguous or unknown. RESULTS: The number of abbreviations found in the documents composed by medical and orthopedic surgery residents was 1525 with 80 different abbreviations and 493 with 51 different abbreviations respectively (9.3% and 4.9% of the total word number respectively). Analysis revealed that 14% of the abbreviations from medical ward documents were graded as ambiguous or unknown by medical senior physicians compared with 25% by senior orthopedic surgeons. When abbreviations from orthopedic surgery documents were presented to both groups, senior orthopedic surgeons graded 8% as ambiguous or unknown compared with 21% by the medical senior physicians. CONCLUSION: In order to prevent impairment of patient care, only standard abbreviations should be used in medical documents. Measures should be taken to decrease the use of non standard abbreviations such as the incorporation of authorized abbreviations to the electronic medical record.

Improving the Quality of Ward-based Surgical Care With a Human Factors Intervention Bundle.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore the impact of a human factors intervention bundle on the quality of ward-based surgical care in a UK hospital. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Improving the culture of a surgical team is a difficult task. Engagement with stakeholders before intervention is key. Studies have shown that appropriate supervision can enhance surgical ward safety. METHODS: A pre-post intervention study was conducted. The intervention bundle consisted of twice-daily attending ward rounds, a "chief resident of the week" available at all times on the ward, an escalation of care protocol and team contact cards. Twenty-seven junior and senior surgeons completed validated questionnaires assessing supervision, escalation of care, and safety culture pre and post-intervention along with interviews to further explore the impact of the intervention. Patient outcomes pre and postintervention were also analyzed. RESULTS: Questionnaires revealed significant improvements in supervision postintervention (senior median pre 5 vs post 7, P = 0.002 and junior 4 vs 6, P = 0.039) and senior surgeon approachability (junior 5 vs 6, P = 0.047). Both groups agreed that they would feel safer as a patient in their hospital postintervention (senior 3 vs 4.5, P = 0.021 and junior 3 vs 4, P = 0.034). The interviews confirmed that the safety culture of the department had improved. There were no differences in inpatient mortality, cardiac arrest, reoperation, or readmission rates pre and postintervention. CONCLUSION: Improving supervision and introducing clear protocols can improve safety culture on the surgical ward. Future work should evaluate the effect these measures have on patient outcomes in multiple institutions.