Disparities in Medical School Clerkship Grades Associated with Sex, Race, and Ethnicity: A Person-Centered Approach.

PURPOSE: To determine whether students' self-reported race/ethnicity and sex were associated with grades earned in 7 core clerkships. A person-centered approach was used to group students based on observed clerkship grade patterns. Predictors of group membership and predictive bias by race/ethnicity and sex were investigated. METHOD: Using data from 6 medical student cohorts at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSOM), latent class analysis was used to classify students based on clerkship grades. Multinomial logistic regression was employed to investigate if preclerkship measures and student demographic characteristics predicted clerkship performance-level groups. Marginal effects for United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) Step 1 scores were obtained to assess the predictive validity of the test on group membership by race/ethnicity and sex. Predictive bias was examined by comparing multinomial logistic regression prediction errors across racial/ethnic groups. RESULTS: Three clerkship performance-level groups emerged from the data: low, middle, and high. Significant predictors of group membership were race/ethnicity, sex, and USMLE Step 1 scores. Black or African American students were more likely (odds ratio [OR] = 4.26) to be low performers than White students. Black or African American (OR = 0.08) and Asian students (OR = 0.41) were less likely to be high performers than White students. Female students (OR = 2.51) were more likely to be high performers than male students. Patterns of prediction errors observed across racial/ethnic groups showed predictive bias when using USMLE Step 1 scores to predict clerkship performance-level groups. CONCLUSIONS: Disparities in clerkship grades associated with race/ethnicity were found among JHUSOM students, which persisted after controlling for USMLE Step 1 scores, sex, and other preclerkship performance measures. Differential predictive validity of USMLE Step 1 exam scores and systematic error predictions by race/ethnicity show predictive bias when using USMLE Step 1 scores to predict clerkship performance across racial/ethnic groups.

Changing Surgical Culture Through Surgical Education: Introduction to the PACTS Trial.

The Provider Awareness and Cultural dexterity Toolkit for Surgeons (PACTS) curriculum was developed to improve surgical resident cultural dexterity, with the goal of promoting health equity by developing cognitive skills to adapt to individual patients' needs to ensure personal, patient-centered surgical care through structured educational interventions for surgical residents. Funded by the National Institute of Health (NIH)'s National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, PACTS addresses surgical disparities in patient care by incorporating varied educational interventions, with investigation of both traditional and nontraditional educational outcomes such as patient-reported and clinical outcomes, across multiple hospitals and regions. The unique attributes of this multicenter, multiphased research trial will not only impact future surgical education research, but hopefully improve how surgeons learn nontechnical skills that modernize surgical culture and surgical care. The present perspective piece serves as an introduction to this multifaceted surgical education trial, highlighting the rationale for the study and critical curricular components such as key stakeholders from multiple institutions, multimodal learning and feedback, and diverse educational outcomes.

Developing a National Trauma Research Action Plan: Results from the postadmission critical care research gap Delphi survey.

INTRODUCTION: The 2016 National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine report included a proposal to establish a National Trauma Research Action Plan. In response, the Department of Defense funded the Coalition for National Trauma Research to generate a comprehensive research agenda spanning the continuum of trauma and burn care from prehospital care to rehabilitation as part of an overall strategy to achieve zero preventable deaths and disability after injury. The Postadmission Critical Care Research panel was 1 of 11 panels constituted to develop this research agenda. METHODS: We recruited interdisciplinary experts in surgical critical care and recruited them to identify current gaps in clinical critical care research, generate research questions, and establish the priority of these questions using a consensus-driven Delphi survey approach. The first of four survey rounds asked participants to generate key research questions. On subsequent rounds, we asked survey participants to rank the priority of each research question on a 9-point Likert scale, categorized to represent low-, medium-, and high-priority items. Consensus was defined as ≥60% of panelists agreeing on the priority category. RESULTS: Twenty-five subject matter experts generated 595 questions. By Round 3, 249 questions reached ≥60% consensus. Of these, 22 questions were high, 185 were medium, and 42 were low priority. The clinical states of hypovolemic shock and delirium were most represented in the high-priority questions. Traumatic brain injury was the only specific injury pattern with a high-priority question. CONCLUSION: The National Trauma Research Action Plan critical care research panel identified 22 high-priority research questions, which, if answered, would reduce preventable death and disability after injury. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Diagnostic Tests or Criteria; Level IV.

American College of Surgeons Objective Assessment of Skills in Surgery (ACS OASIS): A Formative Assessment of Junior Residents' Technical Skills.

OBJECTIVE: The objective assessment of technical skills of junior residents is essential in implementing competency-based training and providing specific feedback regarding areas for improvement. An innovative assessment that can be easily implemented by training programs nationwide has been developed by expert surgeon educators under the aegis of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Division of Education. This assessment, ACS Objective Assessment of Skills in Surgery (ACS OASIS) uses eight stations to address technical skills important for junior residents within the domains of laparoscopic appendectomy, excision of lipoma, central line placement, laparoscopic cholecystectomy, trocar placement, exploratory laparotomy, repair of enterotomy, and tube thoracostomy. The purpose of this study was to implement ACS OASIS at a number of sites to study its psychometric rigor. DESIGN: The ACS OASIS was pre-piloted at two programs to establish feasibility and to gather information regarding implementation. Each skills station was 12 minutes long, and the faculty completed a checklist with 5 to 15 items, and a global assessment scale. The study was then repeated at three pilot sites and included 29 junior residents who were assessed by a total of 44 faculty. Psychometric data for the stations and checklists were collected and analyzed. SETTING: The pre-pilot sites were Geisinger and University of Tennessee Knoxville.Data were gathered from pilot sites that included Wellspan Health, Duke University, and University of California Los Angeles. RESULTS: The mean checklist score for all learners was 76% (IQR of 66%-85%). The average global rating was 3.36 on a 5-point scale with a standard deviation of 0.56. The overall cut score derived using the borderline group method was at 68% with 34% of performances requiring remediation. Using this criterion, the average number of stations that were completed by each learner without need for remediation was five.The station discrimination index ranged from 0.27 to 0.65 (all above the threshold of 0.25), demonstrating solid psychometric characteristics at the station level. The internal-consistency reliability was 0.76 with SEM of 5.8%. The inter-rater reliability (intraclass correlation) was high at 0.73 with general agreement of 79% between the two raters. The station discrimination was at 0.45 (range of 0.27 to 0.65) indicating a high level of differentiation between high and low performers. Using the generalizability theory, the G-coefficient reliability was at 0.72 with the reliability projection flattening after 8 stations. Overall, 75% to 82% the faculty and learners rated ACS OASIS as realistic and beneficial. CONCLUSIONS: ACS OASIS is a psychometrically sound technical skills assessment tool that can provide useful information for feedback to junior residents and support efforts to remediate gaps in performance.

A Qualitative Study of the Barriers and Benefits to Resident Education in Ambulatory Surgical Centers.

OBJECTIVE: As Ambulatory Surgical Centers (ASCs) become more common in academic medical centers, large hospital systems must determine how to shift resident education from inpatient to outpatient surgical centers. This study aims to define stakeholders' views regarding the integration of surgical residents into ASCs. DESIGN: Long-form interviews lasting 30 to 60 minutes were conducted. Interviews were hand-transcribed and analyzed by qualitative analysis to determine benefits of learning in ASCs for residents, challenges that arise from integrating residents, and recommendations to improve resident incorporation. SETTING: Interviews were conducted using a video conferencing platform. PARTICIPANTS: Residency program directors, attending surgeons, graduate medical learners, and a nursing manager were interviewed. Twenty-one total interviews were conducted, representing ten different departments. RESULTS: Stakeholders agreed that residents benefit from being placed in ASCs because the fast, surgical pace allows the residents to engage in more cases. However, different stakeholders highlighted different challenges, all centered around the notion of inter-stakeholder conflict due to conflicting priorities among residents, attending physicians, and administration. Likewise, recommendations differed by stakeholder group-faculty members sought more defined learning objectives and enhanced communication, whereas residents desired that ambulatory surgical time be more structured. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the pressures of rapid case turnover, stakeholders agreed that there are many benefits to resident education in ASCs. Findings related to challenges and recommendations support the need to strengthen communication between stakeholder groups and better plan for resident integration into ASCs.

The Challenges of Program Accreditation Decisions in 2021 for the ACMGE Review Committee for Surgery.

Through only a few months, the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly impacted the daily activities and education of surgical residents and fellows and the programs in which they are enrolled. The pandemic has also forced many changes for the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and its Review Committee for Surgery. This article details some of those changes and their effect on the process of conferring 2021 accreditation decisions by the Review Committee.

Impact of Continuation of Parenteral Nutrition on Outcomes of Patients with Blood Stream Infections.

Background: The impact of continuing parenteral nutrition (PN) in patients who develop blood stream infections (BSI) while receiving PN is largely unknown. Patients and Methods: Adult patients admitted to a large academic center over three consecutive years and seven months who had a positive blood culture while receiving PN were included in the study. The cohort was divided into those who had PN continued (PN-c) or discontinued (PN-dc) after the positive culture. We evaluated the effect of continuing PN on clinical outcomes by comparing a composite outcome of recurrent BSI, severe sepsis/septic shock, and death within 30 days between the two groups using a propensity score-weighting regression analysis. Results: Of 154 patients included in the study, approximately 70% of whom were surgical patients, 65 (42%) had PN discontinued whereas 89 (58%) had PN continued. Cohort characteristics were similar between the two groups including the Pitt bacteremia score and source control. There were more cases of candidemia (18% vs 6%, p = 0.03) and more cases of intra-abdominal infections (IAI; 42% vs 25%, p = 0.02) in the PN-c group compared with the PN-dc group. The most common sites of infection were endovascular and IAI in both groups. The median duration of bacteremia for both groups was one day. After applying propensity score weighting, the composite outcome of recurrent BSI, severe sepsis/septic shock, and death within 30 days was similar between the PN-dc and PN-c groups (43% and 49%, respectively; p = 0.61). Conclusions: Continuing PN in patients with bacteremia or candidemia was not associated with worse clinical outcomes.

Concordance of Resident and Patient Perceptions of Culturally Dexterous Patient Care Skills.

PURPOSE: Disparities in surgical care persist. To mitigate these disparities, we are implementing and testing the Provider Awareness and Cultural dexterity Toolkit for Surgeons (PACTS), a curriculum to improve surgical residents' cultural dexterity during clinical encounters. We analyzed baseline data to look for concordance between residents' self-perceived cultural dexterity skills and patients' perceptions of their skills. We hypothesized that residents would rate their skills in cultural dexterity higher than patients would perceive those skills. METHODS: Prior to the implementation of the curriculum, surgical residents at 5 academic medical centers completed a self-assessment of their skills in culturally dexterous patient care using a modified version of the Cross-Cultural Care Survey. Randomly selected surgical inpatients at these centers completed a similar survey about the quality of culturally dexterous care provided by a surgery resident on their service. Likert scale responses for both assessments were classified as high (agree/strongly agree) or low (neutral/disagree/strongly disagree) competency. Resident and patient ratings of cultural dexterity were compared. Assessments were considered dexterous if 75% of responses were in the high category. Univariate and multivariate analysis was conducted using STATA 16. RESULTS: A total of 179 residents from 5 surgical residency programs completed self-assessments prior to receiving the PACTS curriculum, including 88 (49.2%) women and 97 (54.2%) junior residents (PGY 1-2s), of whom 54.7% were White, 19% were Asian, and 8.9% were Black/African American. A total of 494 patients with an average age of 55.1 years were surveyed, of whom 238 (48.2%) were female and 320 (64.8%) were White. Fifty percent of residents viewed themselves as culturally dexterous, while 57% of patients reported receiving culturally dexterous care; this difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.09). Residents who perceived themselves to be culturally dexterous were more likely to self-identify as non-White as compared to White (p < 0.05). On multivariate analysis, White patients were more likely to report highly dexterous care, whereas Black patients were more likely to report poorly dexterous care (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: At baseline, half of patients reported receiving culturally dexterous care from surgical residents at 5 academic medical centers in the United States. This was consistent with residents' self-assessment of their cultural dexterity skills. White patients were more likely to report receiving culturally dexterous care as compared to non-White patients. Non-White residents were more likely to feel confident in their cultural dexterity skills. A novel curriculum has been designed to improve these interactions between patients and surgical residents.

Aminoglycoside Dosing and Volume of Distribution in Critically Ill Surgery Patients.

Background: At a tertiary referral and Level I trauma center, current institutional guidelines suggest initial aminoglycoside doses of gentamicin or tobramycin 4 mg/kg and amikacin 16 mg/kg for patients admitted to surgical intensive care units (SICUs) with suspected gram-negative infection. The objective of this study was to evaluate initial aminoglycoside dosing and peak serum drug concentrations in critically ill surgery patients to characterize the aminoglycoside volume of distribution (Vd) and determine an optimal standardized dosing strategy. Methods: This retrospective, observational, single-center study included adult SICU patients who received an aminoglycoside for additional gram-negative coverage. Descriptive statistics were used to evaluate the patient population, aminoglycoside dosing, and Vd. Multivariable linear regression was applied to determine variables associated with greater aminoglycoside Vd. The mortality rate was compared in patients who achieved adequate initial peak concentrations versus those who did not. Results: One hundred seventeen patients received an aminoglycoside in the SICUs, of whom 58 had an appropriately timed peak concentration measurement. The mean Acute Physiology, Age, and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II score was 27.8 ± 8.9. The Vd in patients receiving gentamicin, tobramycin, and amikacin was 0.49 ± 0.10, 0.41 ± 0.09, and 0.53 ± 0.13 L/kg, respectively. Together, the mean aminoglycoside Vd was 0.50 ± 0.12 L/kg. Gentamicin or tobramycin 5 mg/kg achieved goal peak concentrations in 24 patients (63.2%), and amikacin 20 mg/kg achieved the desired concentrations in nine patients (50.0%). Net fluid status, Body Mass Index, and vasopressor use were not predictive of Vd. There was no difference in the in-hospital mortality rate in patients who achieved adequate peak concentrations versus those who did not (26.8% versus 26.7%; p = 0.99). Conclusion: High aminoglycoside doses are needed in critically ill surgery patients to achieve adequate initial peak concentrations because of the high Vd. Goal peak concentrations were optimized at doses of gentamicin or tobramycin 5 mg/kg, and amikacin 20 mg/kg.

Controversies in Perioperative Antimicrobial Prophylaxis.

Although clinical guidelines for antibiotic prophylaxis across a wide array of surgical procedures have been proposed by multidisciplinary groups of physicians and pharmacists, clinicians often deviate from recommendations. This is particularly true when recommendations are based on weak data or expert opinion. The goal of this review is to highlight certain common but controversial topics in perioperative prophylaxis and to focus on the data that does exist for the recommendations being made.

Use and Effectiveness of Peri-Operative Cefotetan versus Cefazolin Plus Metronidazole for Prevention of Surgical Site Infection in Abdominal Surgery Patients.

BACKGROUND: Current practice guidelines for antimicrobial prophylaxis in surgery recommend a cephamycin or cefazolin plus metronidazole for various abdominal surgeries. In February 2016, cephamycin drug shortages resulted in a change in The Johns Hopkins Hospital's (JHH) recommendation for peri-operative antibiotic prophylaxis in abdominal surgeries from cefotetan to cefazolin plus metronidazole. The primary objective of this study was to quantify the percentage of abdominal surgeries adherent to JHH peri-operative antibiotic prophylaxis guidelines. A sub-group analysis investigated whether prophylaxis with cefazolin plus metronidazole was associated with a lower rate of surgical site infections (SSIs) versus cefotetan. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This retrospective cohort study included adult inpatients who underwent an abdominal surgery at JHH in September 2015 (Study Period I: cefotetan) or February to March 2016 (Study Period II: cefazolin plus metronidazole). RESULTS: Two hundred abdominal surgery cases were included in the primary analysis. A subset of 156 surgical cases were included in the sub-group analysis. The overall adherence rate to JHH guidelines was 75% in Study Period I versus 17% in Study Period II (p < 0.001). The largest difference in adherence was attributed to pre-operative administration time (87% vs. 23%, p < 0.001), primarily because of the longer infusion time required for metronidazole. Surgical site infections occurred in 14% (12/83) of surgeries with cefotetan versus 8.2% (6/73) with cefazolin plus metronidazole for prophylaxis (p = 0.19). CONCLUSIONS: Adherence to an institution-specific peri-operative antibiotic prophylaxis guideline for abdominal surgeries was limited primarily by the longer infusion time required for pre-operative metronidazole. A higher percentage of SSIs occurred among abdominal surgeries with cefotetan versus cefazolin plus metronidazole for prophylaxis.

Development of a train-to-proficiency curriculum for the technical skills component of the fundamentals of endoscopic surgery exam.

BACKGROUND: The demonstration of competency in endoscopy is required prior to obtaining American Board of Surgery Certification. To demonstrate competency, the resident must pass a national high-stakes cognitive test and a technical skills exam on a virtual reality simulator. The purpose of this preliminary study was to design a proficiency-based endoscopy simulation curriculum to meet this competency requirement. METHODS: This is a mixed methods prospective cohort study at a single academic medical institution. Prior to taking the national exam, surgery residents were required to participate in a skills lab and demonstrate proficiency on 10 simulation tasks. Proficiency was based on time and percent of objects targeted/mucosa seen. Simulation practice time, number of task repetitions to proficiency, and prior endoscopic experience were recorded. Resident's self-reported confidence scores in endoscopic skills prior to and following simulation lab training were obtained. RESULTS: From January 1, 2016 through August 1, 2017, 20 surgical residents (8 PGY2, 8 PGY3, 4 PGY4) completed both a faculty-supervised endoscopy skills lab and independent learning with train-to-proficiency simulation tasks. Median overall simulator time per resident was 306 min (IQR: 247-405 min). Median overall time to proficiency in all tasks was 235 min (IQR: 208-283 min). The median time to proficiency decreased with increasing PGY status (r = 0.4, P = 0.05). There was no correlation between prior real-time endoscopic experience and time to proficiency. Reported confidence in endoscopic skills increased significantly from mean of 5.75 prior to 7.30 following the faculty-supervised endoscopy skills lab (P = 0.0002). All 20 residents passed the national exam. CONCLUSIONS: In this preliminary study, a train-to-proficiency curriculum in endoscopy improved surgical resident's confidence in their endoscopic skills and 100% of residents passed the FES technical skills test on their first attempt. Our findings also indicate that uniform proficiency was not achieved by real-time experience alone.

Development and Implementation of a School-Wide Institute for Excellence in Education to Enable Educational Scholarship by Medical School Faculty.

PROBLEM: Educational scholarship is an important component for faculty at Academic Medical Centers, especially those with single-track promotion systems. Yet, faculty may lack the skills and mentorship needed to successfully complete projects. In addition, many educators feel undervalued. INTERVENTION: To reinvigorate our school's educational mission, the Institute for Excellence in Education (IEE) was created. Here we focus on one of the IEE's strategic goals, that of inspiring and supporting educational research, scholarship, and innovation. CONTEXT: Using the 6-step curriculum development process as a framework, we describe the development and outcomes of IEE programs aimed at enabling educational scholarship at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. OUTCOME: Four significant programs that focused on educational scholarship were developed and implemented: (a) an annual conference, (b) a Faculty Education Scholars' Program, (c) "Shark Tank" small-grant program, and (d) Residency Redesign Challenge grants. A diverse group of primarily junior faculty engaged in these programs with strong mentorship, successfully completing and disseminating projects. Faculty members have been able to clarify their personal goals and develop a greater sense of self-efficacy for their desired paths in teaching and educational research. LESSONS LEARNED: Faculty require programs and resources for educational scholarship and career development, focused on skills building in methodology, assessment, and statistical analysis. Mentoring and the time to work on projects are critical. Key to the IEE's success in maintaining and building programs has been ongoing needs assessment of faculty and learners and a strong partnership with our school's fund-raising staff. The IEE will next try to expand opportunities by adding additional mentoring capacity and further devilment of our small-grants programs.