Impingement on the internet: evaluating the quality and readability of online subacromial impingement information.

Patients increasingly access the internet to learn about their orthopaedic conditions. Despite this, online information may be unregulated, of questionable quality and difficulty to read. OBJECTIVES: Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the readability and quality of the online information concerning subacromial impingement syndrome. METHODS: A search using Australia's three most popular online search engines was undertaken using the search terms 'subacromial impingement syndrome' and 'shoulder impingement'. The first 15 websites for each term were evaluated. Duplicates, advertisements and sponsored links were removed.The quality and readability of each website were calculated using the DISCERN and Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease (FKRE) tools, respectively. The differences in quality and readability between each website type (healthcare/academic, commercial, news outlet, charitable/not-for-profit, layperson, government) was assessed using analysis of variance. The correlation between quality and readability was assessed using the Pearson correlation coefficient. RESULTS: The majority of 35 unique websites analysed were of 'poor'/'fair' quality (determined via the DISCERN instrument) and 'difficult' readability (per the FKRE tool), with no correlation established between the scores. There was no statistically significant difference in quality across website types, however layperson, news outlet and government websites were found to be significantly more readable than alternate website categories (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: We determined that much of the online information concerning subacromial impingement syndrome may be difficult to read and/or of poor quality. By recognising the shortcomings of information accessed by patients online, it is hoped clinicians may be prompted to better educate their patients.

Commitment and burnout: where should surgeons draw the line?

For all its abundant rewards, many assert that surgery is a career that requires significant commitment and sacrifice. Many suggest that when left unchecked, this commitment may incite burnout owing principally to the unique time and emotional demands of the profession. Burnout is variably defined as a complex stress reaction that disproportionately affects healthcare workers, including surgeons. Its significance is owed to the propensity of burnout to detriment personal and professional functioning of the surgeon and potentially impair the care they deliver to their patients. As a result of this, the phenomenon of burnout is increasing attracting attention in contemporary healthcare. This essay examines the extent to which commitment is required in a surgical career and offsets it against the risks and consequences of burnout. Ultimately, the authors conclude that surgeons must be aware of both when and how overzealous, unchecked commitment may paradoxically impair their care via the incubation of burnout.