The Quality of Assessment for Learning score for evaluating written feedback in anesthesiology postgraduate medical education: a generalizability and decision study.

Background: Competency based residency programs depend on high quality feedback from the assessment of entrustable professional activities (EPA). The Quality of Assessment for Learning (QuAL) score is a tool developed to rate the quality of narrative comments in workplace-based assessments; it has validity evidence for scoring the quality of narrative feedback provided to emergency medicine residents, but it is unknown whether the QuAL score is reliable in the assessment of narrative feedback in other postgraduate programs.

Methods: Fifty sets of EPA narratives from a single academic year at our competency based medical education post-graduate anesthesia program were selected by stratified sampling within defined parameters [e.

Understanding equitable and affirming communication moments and relationship milestones during the intensive care unit journey: findings from stage 1 of a design thinking project.

Purpose: Communication is vital to facilitate patient and family-centred care (PFCC) and to build trusting relationships between intensive care unit (ICU) health care providers, the patient, and their loved ones in the ICU. The focus of this investigation was to identify, define, and refine key moments of communication, connection, and relationship building in the ICU through a lens of Equity, Diversity, Decolonization, and Inclusion (EDDI) to encourage meaningful communication and development of trusting relationships.

Methods: We conducted 13 journey mapping interviews with ICU health care providers, patients, and their loved ones as the first stage in a design thinking project.

Identifying behaviors that characterize emergence delirium: An observational study.

Background: Diagnostic criteria for emergence agitation are sensitive but not specific; they misclassify patients who are angry or upset as having emergence delirium.

Aims: The aim of this three-phase study was to determine expert agreement on the behaviors that differentiate children with emergence delirium from those without.

Methods: In the first phase of this observational study, pediatric dental patients were video recorded while awakening from anesthesia.

Benchmarking a Canadian Anesthesiology Resident Research Program against national norms using a logic model framework: a quality improvement study.

Background: Canadian specialty training programs are expected to deliver curriculum content and assess competencies related to the CanMEDS Scholar role. We evaluated our residency research program and benchmarked it against national norms for quality improvement purposes.

Methods: In 2021 we reviewed departmental curriculum documents and surveyed current and recently graduated residents.

The Use of General Anesthesia for Pediatric Dentistry in Saskatchewan: A Retrospective Study.

Introduction: The rate of general anesthesia (GA) use for pediatric dental treatment in Saskatchewan is among the highest in Canada. Although the prevalence of and risk factors for early childhood caries (ECC) has been reviewed nationally, few studies have focused on Saskatchewan. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of and predictive factors for dental treatment under GA in Saskatchewan.

Enhanced Crystallinity of Covalent Organic Frameworks Formed Under Physical Confinement by Exfoliated Graphene.

The polymerization of 1,4-benzenediboronic acid (BDBA) on mica to form a covalent organic framework (COF-1) reveals a dramatic increase in crystallinity when physically confined by exfoliated graphene. COF-1 domains formed under graphene confinement are highly geometric in shape and on the order of square micrometers in size, while outside of the exfoliated flakes, the COF-1 does not exhibit long-range mesoscale structural order, according to atomic force microscopy imaging. Micro-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy confirms the presence of COF-1 both outside and underneath the exfoliated graphene flakes, and density functional theory calculations predict that higher mobility and self-assembly are not causes of this higher degree of crystallinity for the confined COF-1 domains.

Mobile medical simulation for rural anesthesia providers: A feasibility study.

Introduction: Family practice anesthesia (FPA) providers are family physicians trained to deliver anesthesia care; they often practice in rural hospitals to facilitate surgical care. FPA providers in rural hospitals face challenges including professional isolation and limited opportunities for formal continuing education. To address needs identified by FPA providers, we piloted mobile medical simulation in rural Saskatchewan.

Perianesthetic Implications and Considerations for Myasthenia Gravis.

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a chronic autoimmune neuromuscular disease in which antibodies against the post-nicotinic acetylcholine receptor at the neuromuscular junction develop. Although the exact cause of MG remains unknown, the thymus is a common factor in many cases. Patients with underlying junctional disease, such as MG, have greater anesthesia-related risks because of their known predisposition toward prolonged muscle weakness.

Effect of Patient-Centered Medical Home on Preventive Services for Adolescents and Young Adults.

Objective: To determine the association between enrollment in patient-centered medical homes (PCMHs) and the receipt of preventive services among adolescents and young adults.

Methods: Retrospective cohort study including patients of Hennepin County aged 10 to 24 who had face-to-face or telephone encounters with health care providers between 2010 and 2014 at clinics with PCMHs at the Hennepin County Medical Center, Minnesota. Exposure was enrollment in PCMHs.

Dexmedetomidine during total knee arthroplasty performed under spinal anesthesia decreases opioid use: a randomized-controlled trial.

Background: It remains unclear whether the opioid-sparing effects of dexmedetomidine seen in patients undergoing general anesthesia are reproducible in patients undergoing spinal anesthesia. We hypothesized that the administration of intravenous dexmedetomidine for sedation during total knee arthroplasty under spinal anesthesia would decrease postoperative morphine consumption in the first 24 hr following surgery.

Methods: We conducted this prospective double-blind randomized-controlled trial in 40 patients (American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status I-III) undergoing total knee arthroplasty with a standardized spinal anesthetic.

Culturally informed views on cancer screening: a qualitative research study of the differences between older and younger Somali immigrant women.

Background: Somali women are infrequently screened for breast or cervical cancer, and there is a paucity of evidence-based interventions to increase cancer screening in this community. In order to create a culturally relevant intervention for Somali women living in Minnesota, we sought to understand what Somali immigrant women know about breast and cervical cancer, what are the attitudes toward screening and what cultural barriers are there to screen as well as cultural factors that would facilitate screening.

Methods: In partnership with a community-based organization, New American Community Services (NACS), focus groups were conducted to explore the issues described above.

Addressing perinatal depression in a group of underserved urban women: a focus group study.

Background: Perinatal mental health problems are common complications of pregnancy that can go undetected and untreated. Research indicated that mental health complications are more prevalent in women from disadvantaged communities, yet women from these communities often experience barriers to accessing treatments and interventions. Untreated depression during pregnancy can lead to poor self-care, increased substance abuse, poor obstetrical outcomes, developmental delay in children, and increased risk of postpartum depression.

Three-finger tracheal palpation to guide endotracheal tube depth in children.

Background: Accurate endotracheal tube (ETT) depth is critical, especially in children. The current tools used to guide appropriate ETT depth have significant limitations.

Objectives: To evaluate the utility of tracheal palpation in the neck to guide appropriate ETT placement in children.

Tracheal palpation to assess endotracheal tube depth: an exploratory study.

Purpose: Correct placement of the endotracheal tube (ETT) occurs when the distal tip is in mid-trachea. This study compares two techniques used to place the ETT at the correct depth during intubation: tracheal palpation vs placement at a fixed depth at the patient's teeth.

Methods: With approval of the Research Ethics Board, we recruited American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status I-II patients scheduled for elective surgery with tracheal intubation.

Conceptualizing the Research Culture in Postgraduate Medical Education: Implications for Leading Culture Change.

By recognizing symbols of research culture in postgraduate medical education, educators and trainees can gain a deeper understanding of the existing culture and mechanisms for its transformation. First, I identify symbolic manifestations of the research culture through a case narrative of a single anesthesia residency program, and I offer a visual conceptualization of the research culture. In the second part, I theorize the application of Senge's (1994) disciplines of a learning organization and discuss leverage for enhancing research culture.