Correlation Between Medical School Performance and Receiving Awards in General Surgery Residency.

Importance: It is uncertain whether current measures of achievement during medical school predict exceptional performance during surgical residency. One surrogate of excellence during residency may be awards, especially those given for teaching and annual overall accomplishment.

Objective: Determine whether markers of superior performance during medical school documented in the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) application and student record correlated with receiving awards during residency.

The Patient's Voice in Assessing Resident Communication Skills.

Objective: To generate validity evidence for using patient-reported satisfaction ratings of residents' communication skills to determine progress along the Interpersonal and Communication Skills (ICS) Milestones.

Design: A single-institution, retrospective study analyzed a CAHPS Clinician and Group Survey (CG-CAHPS) database which collects inpatients' ratings of residents' communication skills using 6 questions on a scale of 1 (very poor) to 5 (very good). CG-CAHPS results for each resident were averaged for each question as well as across the 6 questions.

Managing Up: Approaching Mentoring From a Mentee's Perspective.

Objective: Discuss the evolution of mentorship models in surgical training and how educating the surgical trainees with the concepts from "manage up" theory can empower them to maximize the benefits afforded by mentoring relationships.

Methods: "Manage up" theory is derived from the business world where the subordinate takes ownership of the mentoring relationship with their superior by assessing the strengths and weaknesses of both parties and applying that information in managing a productive relationship.

Discussion: Surgery residency programs implement a variety of structured and unstructured mentorship programs to promote mentoring relationships and to encourage professional development.

Characteristics Associated With Outstanding General Surgery Residency Graduate Performance, as Rated by Surgical Educators.

Importance: Characteristics of outstanding graduating surgical residents are currently undefined. Identifying these qualities may be important in guiding resident selection and resident education.

Objective: To determine characteristics that are most strongly associated with being rated as an outstanding graduating surgical resident.

Operative teaching takes "GUTS": Impact of Educational Time Out on trainee's cognitive load.

Background: Educational Time Out (ETO) incorporates intraoperative goal setting, task delineation, and debriefing. ETO has been previously reported to generate positive learning experiences for residents. This study aimed to study the impact of ETO on surgery residents' cognitive load.

The Impact of Simulation Training on Operative Performance in General Surgery: Lessons Learned from a Prospective Randomized Trial.

Background: Practice in the simulated environment can improve surgical skills. However, the transfer of open complex surgical skills to the operating room is unclear. This study evaluated the effect of resident operative performance following a simulation experience on a hand-sewn small bowel anastomosis and determined the impact of utilizing proficiency-based training.

The Virtual Recruitment Onion: Peeling Back the Layers of the Interview Season During the COVID-era.

Objective: We sought to characterize General Surgery residency program directors' (PDs) baseline perspective on how the COVID-19 mandated changes to the recruitment and interview processes impacted how the PDs evaluated and recruited the applicants.

Design: An anonymous cross-sectional questionnaire survey.

Setting: A large, mid-western academic general surgery residency program.

Don't Judge a Letter by its Title: Linguistic Analysis of Letters of Recommendation by Author's Academic Rank.

Objective: This study analyzed the linguistic differences in letters of recommendation (LORs) for general surgery residency applicants written by authors of various academic ranks. Given that many general surgery residency programs require a LOR from the Chair of surgery, this study also examined whether LORs written by the Chair demonstrate linguistic differences to support this practice.

Design: A single institution, retrospective review analyzed LORs from two application cycles of general surgery residency applicants who were selected for interview at a large academic institution.