Surgical rotations: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Background: Every surgeon's career begins with a surgical residency. Each residency has dreaded rotations as well as those that seem ideal, but to date, no objective criteria exist to define such rotations. The aim of this study is to establish objective criteria that, when applied to a specific rotation, will define it as a "dream" or a "dreaded" rotation and, in the process, elucidate the good, the bad, and the ugly of surgical rotations in general.

Faculty evaluations: diagnostic and therapeutic.

Purpose: An excellent teaching program is one that creates an atmosphere of mentorship, leadership, and professional development. The key to all of these may lie in the faculty evaluation. Currently, favorable faculty evaluations are often rewarded, whereas the more critical evaluations are downplayed and seldom used for faculty development.

Are you a surgical role model?

Purpose: Multiple papers have examined the recent decline in the number of surgical residency applicants. Many have concluded that a lack of role models in surgery is at least partially responsible for this decline. However, to date, the definition of a surgical role model does not exist.

The effects of coffee on enzymes involved in metabolism of the dietary carcinogen 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine in rats.

The effects of coffee on the metabolism and genotoxicity of the dietary carcinogen 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP) were investigated. Coffee diminished the bacterial mutagenicity of PhIP in the Ames reversion assay through inhibition of cytochrome P450 1A2 (CYP1A2), a key enzyme involved in the metabolic activation of PhIP. When given as part of the diet (0, 1 or 5% w/w) to male Fischer-344 rats for 2 weeks, coffee affected the expression of hepatic enzymes involved in PhIP metabolism.