Enhanced Stress Resilience Training for UK Surgical Trainees; Effect and Evolution Evaluated.

Introduction: Core Surgical Training (CST) programs are associated with high burnout. This study aimed to assess the influence of Enhanced Stress Resilience Training (ESRT) over a 2-year period in a single UK Statutory Education Body.

Method: CSTs participated in 5-weeks of formal ESRT to address work stressors.

A retrospective cohort study of differential attainment, COVID and chaos: taking the difference out of a terrible trinity.

Background: This study aimed to evaluate core surgical training (CST) differential attainment related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), gender and ethnicity. The hypothesis was that COVID-19 adversely influenced CST outcomes.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study of 271 anonymised CST records was undertaken at a UK Statutory Education Body.

Differential attainment in higher surgical training: scoping pan-specialty spectra.

Introduction: This study aimed to evaluate differential attainment during higher surgical training (HST; all specialties) related to three ethnic cohorts: White UK (WUKG), Black and Minority Ethnic UK Graduates (BMEUKG), and International Medical Graduates (IMG).

Method: Anonymised records of 266 HSTs (126 WUKG, 65 BMEUKG, 75 IMG; 7 years) in a single UK Statutory Education Body were examined. Primary effect measures were Annual Record of Competency Progression Outcome (ARCPO) and Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons (FRCS) pass.

Prognostic significance of drivers at work and learning styles in surgical training.

Purpose Of The Study: Drivers at work (DW) and Learning Styles (LS) refer to contentious theories that aim to account for differential career development yet seldom feature in assessment. This study aimed to quantify the influence of core surgical trainees' (CST) DW and LS on career progress.

Study Design: DW questionnaires and Kolb LS inventories were distributed to 168 CSTs during five consecutive induction boot camps in a single-statutory education body.

Trainee perspective of the causes of stress and burnout in surgical training: a qualitative study from Wales.

Objectives: Stress and burn-out among surgical trainees has been reported most prevalent in core surgical trainees (CST) and female trainees in particular. This study aimed to identify factors perceived by CSTs to be associated with stress and burnout in those at risk.

Design: An open-ended questionnaire was distributed to 79 CSTs and two researchers categorised responses independently, according to Michie's model of workplace stress.

Surgical curriculum concordance: requiem for the educational dream.

This study aimed to analyse the degree of relative variation in speciality-specific competencies required for Certification of Completion of Training (CCT) set by the UK Joint Committee for Surgical Training (JCST) 2021 curriculum. Regulatory body guidance related to operative and non-operative surgical skill competencies required for CCT were analysed and compared. Wide inter-speciality variation was demonstrated in the minimum number of logbook cases (median 815; range 54 to 2100), indexed operations (8; 5 to 24) and procedure-based assessments (35; 6 to 110).

Strategic organisational skills predict surgical training success.

Introduction: Surgical career progression is determined by examination success and Annual Review of Competence Progression (ARCP) outcome, yet data on organisational skills are sparse. This study aimed to determine whether organisational skills related to Core Surgical Training (CST) outcome. Primary outcome measures include operative experience, publications, examination success (Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons or the Diploma in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (MRCS/DO-HNS)) and ARCP outcome.

Trainee burnout: when does the fire start?

Purpose Of The Study: Burnout is an increasingly recognised phenomenon in acute healthcare specialities and associated with depersonalisation, ill health and training programme attrition. This study aimed to quantify contributory physiological variables that may indicate stress in newly qualified doctors.

Study Design: Post Graduate Year 1 doctors (n=13, 7 f, 6 m) were fitted with a VivaLNK wellness device during four prior induction days, followed by their first 14 days work as qualified doctors.

Biosensors, Biomarkers and Biometrics: a Bootcamp Perspective.

Introduction: Competitive physical performance is routinely monitored by wearable technology (biosensors), yet professional healthcare is not, despite high prevalence of trainee stress and burnout, notwithstanding the corresponding risk to patient safety. This study aimed to document the physiological stress response of UK Core Surgical Trainees (CSTs) during simulation training.

Methods: CSTs (n=20, 10 male) were fitted with Vital Scout Wellness Monitors (VivaLNK, Campbell, California, USA) for an intensive 3-day training bootcamp.

Consumer-grade biosensor validation for examining stress in healthcare professionals.

Introduction: A high prevalence of stress and burnout has been reported among healthcare professionals; however, the current tools utilized to quantify such metrics are not in keeping with doctors' busy lifestyles, and moreover do not comply with infection prevention policies. Given that increased stress can subsequently impact both the healthcare profession and the patient in care, this study aimed to assess the validity of a wearable biosensor to monitor and manage stress experienced by healthcare professionals.

Methods: In all, 12 healthy, male volunteers completed an incremental exercise protocol to volitional exhaustion, which aimed to induce physiological stress in a graded manner.

Egalitarianism in surgical training: let equity prevail.

This study aimed to quantify core surgical trainee (CST) differential attainment (DA) related to three cohorts; white UK graduate (White UKG) versus black and minority ethnic UKG (BME UKG) versus international medical graduates (IMGs). The primary outcome measures were annual review of competence progression (ARCP) outcome, intercollegiate Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons (iMRCS) examination pass and national training number (NTN) selection. Intercollegiate Surgical Curriculum Programme (ISCP) portfolios of 264 consecutive CSTs (2010-2017, 168 white UKG, 66 BME UKG, 30 IMG) from a single UK regional post graduate medical region (Wales) were examined.

Stress and Burnout in Training; Requiem for the Surgical Dream.

Objective: Burnout among trainee doctors is common with as many as two-thirds reporting poor health. This study aimed to assess burnout in a cohort of UK core and higher general surgical trainees.

Design: The Maslach Burnout Inventory for Medical Personnel was distributed to 158 surgical trainees to evaluate emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP), and personal accomplishment (PA).

Trauma and Orthopedic Surgery Curriculum Concordance: An Operative Learning Curve Trajectory Perspective.

Introduction: Certification of completion of training in Trauma and Orthopedic (T&O) surgery in the UK requires the demonstration of operative competence in 12 index procedures, achieved through attaining a level 4 consultant-validated procedure-based assessment (PBA). The aim of this study was to evaluate the trajectory of operative learning curves related to PBA performance with respect to operative caseload and training time.

Design: Logbook data from consecutive 24 higher T&O trainees were compared with PBA evaluations to determine the relationship between PBA level, operative experience, training time, and indicative numbers.

Relative Value of Adapted Novel Bibliometrics in Evaluating Surgical Academic Impact and Reach.

Background: The Hirsch index, often used to assess research impact, suffers from questionable validity within the context of General Surgery, and consequently adapted bibliometrics and altmetrics have emerged, including the r-index, m-index, g-index and i10-index. This study aimed to assess the relative value of these novel bibliometrics in a single UK Deanery General Surgical Consultant cohort.

Method: Five indices (h, r, m, g and i10) and altmetric scores (AS) were calculated for 151 general surgical consultants in a UK Deanery.