Residency Application Selection Committee Discriminatory Ability in Identifying Artificial Intelligence-Generated Personal Statements.

OBJECTIVE: Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have given rise to sophisticated algorithms capable of generating human-like text. The goal of this study was to evaluate the ability of human reviewers to reliably differentiate personal statements (PS) written by human authors from those generated by AI software. SETTING: Four personal statements from the archives of two surgical program directors were de-identified and used as the human samples. Two AI platforms were used to generate nine additional PS. PARTICIPANTS: Four surgeons from the residency selection committees of two surgical residency programs of a large multihospital system served as blinded reviewers. AI was also asked to evaluate each PS sample for authorship. DESIGN: Sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of the reviewers in identifying the PS author were calculated. Kappa statistic for correlation between the hypothesized author and the true author were calculated. Inter-rater reliability was calculated using the kappa statistic with Light's modification given more than two reviewers in a fully-crossed design. Logistic regression was performed with to model the impact of perceived creativity, writing quality, and authorship or the likelihood of offering an interview. RESULTS: Human reviewer sensitivity for identifying an AI-generated PS was 0.87 with specificity of 0.37 and overall accuracy of 0.55. The level of agreement by kappa statistic of the reviewer estimate of authorship and the true authorship was 0.19 (slight agreement). The reviewers themselves had an inter-rater reliability of 0.067 (poor), with only complete agreement (four out of four reviewers) on two PS, both authored by humans. The odds ratio of offering an interview (compared to a composite of "backup" status or no interview) to a perceived human author was 7 times that of a perceived AI author (95% confidence interval 1.5276 to 32.0758, p=0.0144). AI hypothesized human authorship for twelve of the PS, with the last one "unsure." CONCLUSIONS: The increasing pervasiveness of AI will have far-reaching effects including on the resident application and recruitment process. Identifying AI-generated personal statements is exceedingly difficult. With the decreasing availability of objective data to assess applicants, a review and potential restructuring of the approach to resident recruitment may be warranted.

Leadership Coaching in Surgical Residency: Reasons for Referral and Topics Addressed to Improve Nontechnical Skill.

PURPOSE: Professional coaching has been utilized in the military and private sector with a long track record of optimizing efficiency, improving high-functioning team performance, and creating greater satisfaction among the workforce. Recent studies in physician populations have suggested that coaching may protect healthcare providers from burnout and improve quality of life and resilience. The aims of the current study were to describe our single-institution experience with the introduction of a leadership coaching program among surgical residents and to characterize the nature of the common reasons for referral for coaching. METHODS: Upon identification by program faculty that a resident would benefit from coaching, an email was sent from the program director to the coach to establish contact between the coach and resident, with a brief synopsis of the factors that lead to the resident being referred for coaching. The study team obtained deidentified, simplified synopses of the initial email correspondences from program leadership reaching out to residents to refer them to coaching. Common recurring themes were quantified. Later, coaches reviewed their notes kept during coaching sessions and, in a similar fashion, identified topics discussed and skills developed in coaching sessions for each resident. Topics were summarized for each resident, and a deidentified list of residents and the themes reviewed in coaching were provided to the study team, who quantified these topics. Baseline demographic information on the resident cohort, including training level, gender, and number of repeat referrals were summarized to delineate differences in patterns of repeat referral and attrition. RESULTS: This study was conducted within the general surgery residency program at a single academic medical center, composed of 43 categorical and 8 preliminary residents. Over a 2.5-year period, 21 residents were referred: 5 chief, 8 senior, 5 midlevel, and 3 junior (1 preliminary) residents. Male residents represented 2/3 and female residents 1/3 of the total number of referrals. There were 3 repeat referrals, 2 male and 1 female. We identified 2 overarching reasons for which residents were referred for coaching: request for structured leadership training and request for communication training. Six themes were identified upon review of referrals for coaching. Among these were the need for improved communication, methods to improve team integration, tools to balance professional and personal responsibilities, and practices to improve confidence and assertiveness. Through the coaching relationship, residents reviewed deficits and received an individualized plan to address newly identified problem areas. Upon initiation of coaching, new themes like anxiety management, emotional intelligence, and cultural acclimatization were identified. During each coaching session, residents participate in exercises designed to build habits of effective listening, communication, and conflict resolution. CONCLUSIONS: Coaching in surgical residency provides a structured program for residents to develop skills in planning and orchestrating team operations, listening and communicating effectively, mitigating conflict, and managing professional and personal responsibilities. Follow-up studies will focus on the long-term effects of professional coaching, evaluating survey data from self-assessments and professional evaluations.

Optimizing surgical education through the implementation of a feedback curriculum.

BACKGROUND: While the advent of work-hour restrictions contributes to increased resident well-being, new interventions are needed to ensure that surgical residents continue to be adequately trained. Our study aims to take the evidence supportive of enhanced feedback and apply it in the real world by creating a feedback training curriculum within a surgical residency. METHODS: A large academic general surgery residency program consisting of 42 residents was sequentially surveyed using the Kirkpatrick model to assess baseline attitudes towards feedback and the efficacy of a feedback training program for faculty and residents. RESULTS: After feedback training, the number of residents that believed their faculty were providing feedback effectively increased from 23% to 54%. Although limited by small sample size, improvements were likely seen in constructive feedback overall and quality feedback from senior residents. CONCLUSIONS: Formal feedback training should be incorporated into efforts to enhance educational skills among surgical faculty.

Resident Endoscopy Experience Correlates Poorly with Performance on a Virtual Reality Simulator.

Background Endoscopy training has become increasingly emphasized during general surgery residency as reflected by introduction of the Fundamentals of Endoscopic Surgery (FES) examination, which includes testing of skills on virtual reality (VR) simulators. Although studies exist to assess the ability of the simulator to differentiate between novices and experienced endoscopists, it is not well understood how simulators can differentiate skills among resident cohort. Objective To assess the utility of the VR simulator, we evaluated the correlation between resident endoscopy experience and performance on two VR simulator colonoscopy modules on the GI-BRONCH Mentor (Simbionix Ltd, Airport City, Israel). Methods Postgraduate years 2 to 5 residents completed "easy" and "difficult" VR colonoscopies, and performance metrics were recorded from October 2017 to February 2018 at Rutgers' two general surgery residency programs. Resident endoscopy experience was obtained through Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education case logs. Correlations between resident endoscopy experience and VR colonoscopy performance metrics were assessed using Spearman's rho (ρ) correlation statistic and bivariate logistic regression. Results Fifty-five residents out of 65 (84.6%) eligible participants completed the study. There were limited correlations found between resident endoscopy experience and FES performance metrics and no correlations were found between resident endoscopy experience and binary metrics of colonoscopy-ability to complete colonoscopy, ability to retroflex, and withdrawal time of less than 6 minutes. Conclusion The VR simulator may have a limited ability to discriminate between experience levels among resident cohort. Future studies are needed to further understand how well the VR simulator metrics correlate with resident endoscopy experience.

Evidence-based Guidelines on the Use of Virtual Surgical Education Pertaining to the Domains of Cognition and Curriculum, Psychomotor Skills Training, and Faculty Development and Mentorship.

OBJECTIVE: To identify, categorize, and evaluate the quality of literature, and to provide evidence-based guidelines on virtual surgical education within the cognitive and curricula, psychomotor, and faculty development and mentorship domains. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: During the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, utilizing virtual learning modalities is expanding rapidly. Although the innovative methods must be considered to bridge the surgical education gap, a framework is needed to avoid expansion of virtual education without proper supporting evidence in some areas. METHODS: The Association for Surgical Education formed an ad-hoc research group to evaluate the quality and methodology of the current literature on virtual education and to build evidence-based guidelines by utilizing the SiGN methodology. We identified patient/problem-intervention-comparison-outcome-style questions, conducted systematic literature reviews using PubMed, EMBASE, and Education Resources information Center databases. Then we formulated evidence-based recommendations, assessed the quality of evidence using Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation, Newcastle-Ottawa Scale for Education, and Kirkpatrick ratings, and conducted Delphi consensus to validate the recommendations. RESULTS: Eleven patient/problem-intervention-comparison-outcome-style questions were designed by the expert committees. After screening 4723 articles by the review committee, 241 articles met inclusion criteria for full article reviews, and 166 studies were included and categorized into 3 domains: cognition and curricula (n = 92), psychomotor, (n = 119), and faculty development and mentorship (n = 119). Sixteen evidence-based recommendations were formulated and validated by an external expert panel. CONCLUSION: The evidence-based guidelines developed using SiGN methodology, provide a set of recommendations for surgical training societies, training programs, and educators on utilizing virtual surgical education and highlights the area of needs for further investigation.

Understanding colorectal twitter: A comparison of its highest and lowest rank influencers.

The distribution of content related to colorectal surgery in social media is steadily increasing. Social media influencers possess large audiences and are frequently viewed as authority; however, their credibility is often unchecked. In our commentary we present our analysis and comparison of the most and least influential accounts on Twitter within the field of colorectal surgery. Additionally, we discuss the current literature, role and importance of social media for the modern surgeon.

The Evolving Role of Radiotherapy in Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer and the Potential for Nonoperative Management.

Locally advanced rectal cancer has broadly been defined as T3, T4, or lymph node-positive disease. In the 1990s, adjuvant chemoradiation was considered the optimal management for locally advanced rectal cancer. However, the paradigm shifted when the German CAO/ARO/AIO-94 Rectal Cancer trial established neoadjuvant chemoradiation as the standard of care, based on reduced rates of toxicity and local recurrence, as well as higher rates of sphincter preservation compared with postoperative chemoradiation. Both short-course radiation and long-course chemoradiation are currently accepted methods for neoadjuvant treatment, with recent trials showing equivalence in outcomes. While surgery remains the cornerstone of treatment, there are data supporting the use of magnetic resonance imaging for risk stratification in rectal cancer and encouraging prospective data regarding nonoperative management. This review summarizes data on the evolution of treatment for locally advanced rectal cancer and discusses emerging evidence for nonoperative management.

Executive Summary of the American Radium Society Appropriate Use Criteria for Local Excision in Rectal Cancer.

The goal of treatment for early stage rectal cancer is to optimize oncologic outcome while minimizing effect of treatment on quality of life. The standard of care treatment for most early rectal cancers is radical surgery alone. Given the morbidity associated with radical surgery, local excision for early rectal cancers has been explored as an alternative approach associated with lower rates of morbidity. The American Radium Society Appropriate Use Criteria presented in this manuscript are evidence-based guidelines for the use of local excision in early stage rectal cancer that include an extensive analysis of current medical literature from peer-reviewed journals and the application of a well-established consensus methodology (modified Delphi) used by a multidisciplinary expert panel to rate the appropriateness of imaging and treatment procedures. In those instances where evidence is lacking or not definitive, expert opinion may be used to recommend imaging or treatment. These guidelines are intended for the use of all practitioners and patients who desire information regarding the use of local excision in rectal cancer.

Gastrointestinal endoscopy training in general surgery residency: what has changed since 2009?

BACKGROUND: The Residency Review Committee for Surgery increased the endoscopy requirement for general surgery residents graduating in 2009 and thereafter. These changes led to the release of a position paper from 4 major gastroenterology societies claiming that the brief exposure of general surgery residents to endoscopy is not sufficient to gain competency. The societies also stated that these increased requirements will place an undue burden on gastroenterologists to supervise surgical residents in endoscopy training. METHODS: We designed a retrospective study to see if general surgery residents at our university-based training program were able to meet the 2009 requirements, and if reliance on nonsurgical faculty has increased. The case logs of all general surgery residents graduating from our institution during seven consecutive years were reviewed. SETTING: All endoscopic procedures were carried out at our main university hospital and at our two affiliated university hospitals. Residents spend two thirds of the year at the main campus and the remaining time at the affiliates. RESULTS: We found that our surgical residents have met the new Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education requirements. In our program, surgeons continue to provide most of the resident supervision for endoscopic procedures. Although there was an initial increased utilization of nonsurgical faculty for upper endoscopy, reliance on nonsurgical faculty for endoscopy training has declined every year since the guidelines were revised. CONCLUSIONS: It is possible for general surgery residents to meet the new Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education requirements in endoscopy without placing an undue burden on gastroenterologists.

Medical complications of obesity and optimization of the obese patient for colorectal surgery.

Obesity is a medical epidemic with an enormous impact on disease prevalence and health care utilization. In the preoperative period, an awareness of medical issues associated with obesity is an important part of the planning for surgical procedures. The authors highlight the diagnostic and treatment options for medical conditions commonly affecting the obese patient including diabetes, hypertension, coronary artery disease, and deep venous thrombosis.