Plastic surgery senior house officers in the UK and Ireland: academic background, publication rates and research plans.

Academic achievements by surgical trainees may vary according to the competitiveness of the subspecialty and desirability of the consultant post. Plastic and reconstructive surgery is a competitive specialty. In order to assess the level of achievement of current trainees, we investigated the academic qualifications, publication rates and future research plans of 100 senior house officers in plastic surgery working in units in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Selected results from our survey show that 30% had intercalated degrees, 6% had higher degrees, 58% of trainees had MRCS, 37% had previous plastic surgery experience and 57% had published (range 1-13). We believe this study provides interesting information concerning the current crop of plastic surgery trainees in the United Kingdom and Ireland. This survey may provide a benchmark for consultants to refer to when shortlisting for SHO posts. We also believe it will be of interest to those junior trainees hoping to pursue a career in plastic surgery.

Digital operation notes: a useful addition to the written record.

The use of photographic images to supplement written records has been used in clinical medical practice for many years. The additional information that a photograph provides is useful to record pathological findings, anatomic changes, surgical relationships, and outcomes. Obtaining relevant, good-quality digital images is extremely easy with the new generation of digital camera systems. The images obtained are very versatile and can be either printed as hard copies or stored in image databases. With the advent of electronic patient records, written operation notes can be stored alongside images to give a more complete account of a patient's treatment. Networked computer systems allow access to these records from a variety of different locations, thereby improving the use of photographs by different specialties. The authors encourage intraoperative photography to enhance the written operation note and have found it helpful to fellow surgical colleagues, pathologists, and physiotherapists in overall patient care.

Blank paper or printed set task forms for retrievable patient notes?

Patients' clinical notes made at review appointments following removal of third molars under a general anaesthetic at five Mersey Hospitals have been compared with those formed from the recording of the findings of preselected tasks. Consistent high quality retrievable records were achieved using the preselected task forms, superior to those formed on blank paper.