The workday of hospital surgeons: what they do, what makes them satisfied, and the role of core tasks and administrative tasks; a diary study.

Background: Many surgeons report passion for their work, but not all tasks are likely to be satisfying. Little is known about how hospital surgeons spend their days, how they like specific tasks, and the role of core tasks (i.e.

Mentoring in general surgery in Switzerland.

Background: Mentorship has been found as a key factor for a successful and satisfying career in academic medicine and surgery. The present study was conducted to describe the current situation of mentoring in the surgical community in Switzerland and to evaluate sex differences regarding the impact of mentoring on career success and professional satisfaction.

Methods: The study was designed as an anonymous national survey to all members of the Swiss Surgical Society in 2011 (820 ordinary and 49 junior members).

Different views about work-hour limitations in medicine: a qualitative content analysis of surgeons', lawyers', and pilots' positive and negative arguments.

Background: Whereas work-hour regulations have been taken for granted since 1940 in other occupational settings, such as commercial aviation, they have been implemented only recently in medical professions, where they lead to a lively debate. The aim of the present study was to evaluate arguments in favour of and against work-hour limitations in medicine given by Swiss surgeons, lawyers, and pilots.

Methods: An electronic questionnaire survey with four free-response items addressing the question of what arguments speak in favour of or against work-hour limitations in general and in medicine was sent to a random sample of board-certified surgeons, lawyers in labour law, and pilots from SWISS International Airlines Ltd.

The surgeon's perspective: promoting and discouraging factors for choosing a career in surgery as perceived by surgeons.

Background: The aim of this study was to identify the factors perceived by surgeons that promote surgery as an attractive or unattractive career choice for today's graduates. In addition, it examined whether the perspectives of surgeons in different professional situations converges. The content of work, contextual work conditions, and calling to this job are discussed in the context of choosing surgery as a career.

Reasons for the persistence of adverse events in the era of safer surgery--a qualitative approach.

Objective: We sought to evaluate potential reasons given by board-certified doctors for the persistence of adverse events despite efforts to improve patient safety in Switzerland.

Summary Background Data: In recent years, substantial efforts have been made to improve patient safety by introducing surgical safety checklists to standardise surgeries and team procedures. Still, a high number of adverse events remain.

Cranio-maxillofacial injuries in victims of interpersonal violence.

Background: Recent research has indicated an increase in the severity of head injuries in Switzerland. The aim of the present study was to describe the epidemiological features of cranio-maxillofacial (CMF) injuries due to interpersonal violence in patients at the Bern University Hospital Emergency Department (ED), based on injury patterns.

Methods: Retrospective analysis was performed on data collected during an 11-year period between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2010 covering 1,585 patients.

Resident work hour restrictions do not improve patient safety in surgery: a critical appraisal based on 7 years of experience in Switzerland.

In 2005 the Swiss government implemented new work-hour limitations for all residency programs in Switzerland, including a 50-hour weekly limit. The reduction in the working hours of doctors in training implicate an increase in their rest time and suggest an amelioration of doctors' clinical performance and consequently in patients' outcomes and safety - which was not detectable in a preliminary study at a large referral center in Switzerland. It remains elusive why work-hour restrictions did not improve patient safety.

Healthcare quality management in Switzerland--a survey among providers.

Background: In the last decade assessing the quality of healthcare has become increasingly important across the world. Switzerland lacks a detailed overview of how quality management is implemented and of its effects on medical procedures and patients' concerns. This study aimed to examine the systematics of quality management in Switzerland by assessing the providers and collected parameters of current quality initiatives.

A ciliated cyst in the posterior mediastinum compatible with a paravertebral Mullerian cyst.

Several types of cysts in the mediastinum have been described, such as bronchogenic or thymic cysts and esophageal duplications, most of which arise in the middle or posterior mediastinum close to the tracheobronchial system or the esophagus. We present herein the rare case of a ciliated cyst anatomically distant to the genitourinary organs. An abnormal formation in the posterior mediastinum was incidentally detected on chest X-ray during the preoperative evaluation for a herniorrhaphy in a 54-year-old woman who had a negative medical history.