Exploring the impact of rural health system factors on physician burnout: a mixed-methods study in Northern Canada.

BACKGROUND: Burnout among physicians is a consequence of chronic occupational stresses and emotionally intense work demands. However, much of the evidence exploring burnout is derived from urban settings and may not reflect the work and social contexts of physicians in Indigenous communities or in rural and resource-constrained areas. We sought to characterize health system factors that influence burnout among physicians practicing in the three northern territories of Canada. METHODS: We conducted a mixed-methods study that included an online survey and qualitative interviews with physicians practicing in Nunavut, Northwest Territories, or Yukon in 2019. The survey adapted content from the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Results were analyzed with logistic regression to assess the association between health system factors and burnout. We conducted in-depth interviews with 14 physicians. Qualitative data was coded and analyzed for themes using the ATLAS.ti software. RESULTS: Thirty-nine percent of survey respondents (n = 22/57) showed features associated with burnout. Factors associated with burnout included use of electronic medical records (ß = - 0.7, p < .05), inadequate financial remuneration (ß = - 1.0, p < .05), and cross-cultural issues (ß = - 1.1, p < .05). Qualitative analysis further identified physician perceptions of lack of influence over health system policies, systemic failures in cultural safety, discontinuity of care, administrative burden, and physician turnover as important drivers of burnout. CONCLUSIONS: Physicians practicing in northern regions in Canada experience stress and burnout related to health system factors and cross-cultural issues. The relationship between cross-cultural issues and burnout has not previously been reported. This work may have implications for physician wellbeing and workforce attrition in other resource-constrained or culturally diverse clinical settings.

Preoperative Skin-Surface Cultures Can Help to Predict the Presence of Propionibacterium in Shoulder Arthroplasty Wounds.

BACKGROUND: Propionibacterium species are commonly cultured from specimens harvested at the time of revision shoulder arthroplasty. These bacteria reside in normal sebaceous glands, out of reach of surgical skin preparation. The arthroplasty incision transects these structures, which allows Propionibacterium to inoculate the wound and to potentially lead to the formation of a biofilm on the inserted implant. To help identify patients who are at increased risk for wound inoculation, we investigated whether preoperative cultures of the specimens from the unprepared skin surface were predictive of the results of intraoperative cultures of dermal wound-edge specimens obtained immediately after incision of the surgically prepared skin. METHODS: Sixty-six patients (mean age, 66.1 ± 9.4 years [range, 37 to 82 years]; 73% male) undergoing primary shoulder arthroplasty had preoperative cultures of the unprepared skin surface and intraoperative cultures of the freshly incised dermis using special culture swabs. For the first 50 patients, a control swab was opened to air during the same time that the dermal specimen was obtained. The results for female and male patients were characterized as the Specimen Propionibacterium Value (SpPV). We then determined the degree to which the results of cultures of the skin surface specimens were predictive of the results of culture of the dermal specimens. RESULTS: The skin-surface SpPV was ≥1 in 3 (17%) of the 18 female patients and 34 (71%) of the 48 male patients (p < 0.001). The dermal SpPV was ≥1 in 0 (0%) of the 18 female patients and 19 (40%) of the 48 male patients (p < 0.001). None of the control samples had an SpPV of ≥1. The predictive characteristics of a skin-surface SpPV of ≥1 for a dermal SpPV of ≥1 were as follows: sensitivity, 1.00 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.82 to 1.00); specificity, 0.62 (95% CI, 0.46 to 0.75); positive predictive value, 0.51 (95% CI, 0.34 to 0.68); and negative predictive value, 1.00 (95% CI, 0.88 to 1.00). CONCLUSIONS: A preoperative culture of the unprepared skin surface can help to predict whether the freshly incised dermal edge is likely to be positive for Propionibacterium. This test may help to identify patients who may merit more aggressive topical and systemic antibiotic prophylaxis. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: This study shows that surgeons have the opportunity to use preoperative skin cultures to determine the likelihood that the shoulder arthroplasty wound will be culture-positive for Propionibacterium.

Validation of a Dry Model for Assessing the Performance of Arthroscopic Hip Labral Repair.

BACKGROUND: Arthroscopic hip labral repair is a technically challenging and demanding surgical technique with a steep learning curve. Arthroscopic simulation allows trainees to develop these skills in a safe environment. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of a combination of assessment ratings for the performance of arthroscopic hip labral repair on a dry model. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3. METHODS: A total of 47 participants including orthopaedic surgery residents (n = 37), sports medicine fellows (n = 5), and staff surgeons (n = 5) performed arthroscopic hip labral repair on a dry model. Prior arthroscopic experience was noted. Participants were evaluated by 2 orthopaedic surgeons using a task-specific checklist, the Arthroscopic Surgical Skill Evaluation Tool (ASSET), task completion time, and a final global rating scale. All procedures were video-recorded and scored by an orthopaedic fellow blinded to the level of training of each participant. RESULTS: The internal consistency/reliability (Cronbach alpha) using the total ASSET score for the procedure was high (intraclass correlation coefficient > 0.9). One-way analysis of variance for the total ASSET score demonstrated a difference between participants based on the level of training ( F3,43 = 27.8, P < .001). A good correlation was seen between the ASSET score and previous exposure to arthroscopic procedures ( r = 0.52-0.73, P < .001). The interrater reliability for the ASSET score was excellent (>0.9). CONCLUSION: The results of this study demonstrate that the use of dry models to assess the performance of arthroscopic hip labral repair by trainees is both valid and reliable. Further research will be required to demonstrate a correlation with performance on cadaveric specimens or in the operating room.