Blue Ribbon Committee I Review: Findings and Impact.

Objective: Review the subsequent impact of recommendations made by the 2004 American Surgical Association Blue Ribbon Committee (BRC I) Report on Surgical Education.

Background: Current leaders of the American College of Surgeons and the American Surgical Association convened an expert panel to review the impact of the BRC I report and make recommendations for future improvements in surgical education.

Methods: BRC I members reviewed the 2004 recommendations in light of the current status of surgical education.

ECLAPTE: Effective Closure of LAParoTomy in Emergency-2023 World Society of Emergency Surgery guidelines for the closure of laparotomy in emergency settings.

Laparotomy incisions provide easy and rapid access to the peritoneal cavity in case of emergency surgery. Incisional hernia (IH) is a late manifestation of the failure of abdominal wall closure and represents frequent complication of any abdominal incision: IHs can cause pain and discomfort to the patients but also clinical serious sequelae like bowel obstruction, incarceration, strangulation, and necessity of reoperation. Previous guidelines and indications in the literature consider elective settings and evidence about laparotomy closure in emergency settings is lacking.

Acute mesenteric ischemia: updated guidelines of the World Society of Emergency Surgery.

Acute mesenteric ischemia (AMI) is a group of diseases characterized by an interruption of the blood supply to varying portions of the intestine, leading to ischemia and secondary inflammatory changes. If untreated, this process may progress to life-threatening intestinal necrosis. The incidence is low, estimated at 0.

SCORE - Leveling the Playing Field for Surgical Training Programs.

Objective: The Surgical Council on Resident Education (SCORE) web portal provides a uniform, comprehensive, competency-based curriculum for general surgery residents. One of SCORE's principal founding goals was to provide equal opportunity for access of educational resources at programs across the United States which reported having a range of resources. We aimed to determine if there was a difference in portal usage by trainees in independent versus university programs, and across geographic areas.

Recertification Exam Performance in General Surgery is Associated With Subsequent Loss of License Actions.

Objectives: To measure associations between first-time performance on the American Board of Surgery (ABS) recertification exam with subsequent state medical licensing board disciplinary actions.

Background: Time-limited board certification has been criticized as unnecessary. Few studies have examined the relationship between recertification exam performance and outcomes.

Is There Gender Bias on the American Board of Surgery General Surgery Certifying Examination?

Background: When oral examinations are administered, examiner subjectivity may possibly affect ratings, particularly when examiner severity is influenced by examinee characteristics (e.g., gender) that are independent of examinee ability.

Association Between Maintaining Certification in General Surgery and Loss-of-License Actions.

This study uses American Board of Surgery data to assess the association between maintainence of certification in general surgery and loss-of-license actions after expiration of the initial 10-year certification among general surgeons.

Best Practice for Implementation of the SCORE Portal in General Surgery Residency Training Programs.

Introduction: The Surgical Council on Resident Education (SCORE) has presented a workshop annually at the annual meeting of the Association of Program Directors (APDS) to discuss the evolution of the SCORE portal and best practices for implementation within residency training programs.

Methods/results: A review of the literature was undertaken, along with a summation of discussion at these several workshops. A history of the SCORE project and a summary of its organizational framework and content are presented.

What Can SCORE Web Portal Usage Analytics Tell Us About How Surgical Residents Learn?

Purpose: The Surgical Council on Resident Education (SCORE) was established in 2004 with 2 goals: to develop a standardized, competency-based curriculum for general surgery residency training; and to develop a web portal to deliver this content. By 2012, 96% of general surgery residency programs subscribed to the SCORE web portal. Surgical educators have previously described the myriad ways they have incorporated SCORE into their curricula.

Proceedings of resources for optimal care of acute care and emergency surgery consensus summit Donegal Ireland.

Background: Opportunities to improve emergency surgery outcomes exist through guided better practice and reduced variability. Few attempts have been made to define optimal care in emergency surgery, and few clinically derived key performance indicators (KPIs) have been published. A summit was therefore convened to look at resources for optimal care of emergency surgery.

General surgery resident rotations in surgical critical care, trauma, and burns: what is optimal for residency training?

Background: There are no specific Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education General Surgery Residency Program Requirements for rotations in surgical critical care (SCC), trauma, and burn. We sought to determine the experience of general surgery residents in SCC, trauma, and burn rotations.

Methods: Data analysis of surgical rotations of American Board of Surgery general surgery resident applicants (n = 7,299) for the last 8 years (2006 to 2013, inclusive) was performed through electronic applications to the American Board of Surgery Qualifying Examination.

WSES guidelines for management of Clostridium difficile infection in surgical patients.

In the last two decades there have been dramatic changes in the epidemiology of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI), with increases in incidence and severity of disease in many countries worldwide. The incidence of CDI has also increased in surgical patients. Optimization of management of C difficile, has therefore become increasingly urgent.

Factors influencing the decision of surgery residency graduates to pursue general surgery practice versus fellowship.

Objectives: Surgery residency serves 2 purposes-prepare graduates for general surgery (GS) practice or postresidency surgical fellowship, leading to specialty surgical practice (SS). This study was undertaken to elucidate factors influencing career choice for these 2 groups.

Methods: All US allopathic surgery residency graduates from 2009 to 2013 (n = 5512) were surveyed by the American Board of Surgery regarding confidence, autonomy, and reasons for career selection between GS and SS.

Review courses for the American Board of Surgery certifying examination do not provide an advantage.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether participation in a commercially available board review course affected the likelihood of passing the general surgery certifying exam (CE) of the American Board of Surgery (ABS).

Methods: Candidates who took the ABS CE during the 2012-2013 academic year were surveyed electronically about their participation in commercial board review courses on the ABS website immediately before receiving their exam results. The primary outcome variable was passing the CE.

Resident Preparation for Careers in General Surgery: A Survey of Program Directors.

Objective: The number of general surgery (GS) residency graduates who choose GS practice has diminished as the popularity of postresidency fellowships has dramatically increased over the past several decades. This study was designed to document current methods of GS preparation during surgery residency and to determine characteristics of programs that produce more graduates who pursue GS practice.

Design: An email survey was sent by the American Board of Surgery General Surgery Advisory Committee to program directors of all GS residencies.

Practice administration training needs of recent general surgery graduates.

Introduction: Practice administration education and experience during surgery residency are variable among residency programs. To better understand these issues, a survey of recent General Surgery residency (GS) graduates was compared with the results from a survey of GS program directors (PD).

Methods: All GS graduates completing residency from 2009 to 2013 (n = 5,512) were surveyed to assess opinions regarding the desire for more instruction during residency in practice administration.