Parenting and Childbearing in Neurosurgical Residency: Perspectives from the United States and Canada.

Background: Despite growing interest in family planning alongside surgical training, significant barriers exist including time constraints, stigma, and lack of paid leave and formal policies. We currently lack a deep understanding of the challenges residents face and how practice cultures may prohibit successful policy enactment.

Objective: To investigate residents' perspectives surrounding parenting and childbearing during neurosurgical residency in the United States and Canada.

Pulling our lens backwards to move forward: an integrated approach to physician distress.

The medical community has recently acknowledged physician stress as a leading issue for individual wellness and healthcare system functioning. Unprecedented levels of stress contribute to physician burnout, leaves of absence and early retirement. Although recommendations have been made, we continue to struggle with addressing stress.

Enhancing Formative Feedback in Orthopaedic Training: Development and Implementation of a Competency-Based Assessment Framework.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to develop, implement, and evaluate the effectiveness of an assessment framework aimed at improving formative feedback practices in a Canadian orthopaedic postgraduate training program.

Methods: Tool development began in 2014 and took place in 4 phases, each building upon the previous and informing the next. The reliability, validity, and educational impact of the tools were assessed on an ongoing basis, and changes were made accordingly.

'It's not the form; it's the process': a phenomenological study on the use of creative professional development workshops to improve teamwork and communication skills.

Introduction: Past research has demonstrated the positive effects of visual and performing arts on health professionals' observational acuity and associated diagnostic skills, well-being and professional identity. However, to date, the use of arts for the development of non-technical skills, such as teamwork and communication, has not been studied thoroughly.

Methods: In partnership with a community print and media arts organisation, Centre[3], we used a phenomenological approach to explore front-line mental health and social service workers' experiences with a creative professional development workshop based on the visual and performing arts.

Examining the barriers to meaningful assessment and feedback in medical training.

Background: Recent reports from both accreditation bodies in North America highlight problems with current assessment practices in postgraduate medical training. Previous work has shown that educators might be reluctant to report poor performance or fail underperforming trainees. This study explores the barriers perceived by medical educators to providing more meaningful assessment and feedback to trainees.

Simulation for Teaching Orthopaedic Residents in a Competency-based Curriculum: Do the Benefits Justify the Increased Costs?

Background: Although simulation-based training is becoming widespread in surgical education and research supports its use, one major limitation is cost. Until now, little has been published on the costs of simulation in residency training. At the University of Toronto, a novel competency-based curriculum in orthopaedic surgery has been implemented for training selected residents, which makes extensive use of simulation.

Student-led learning: a new teaching paradigm for surgical skills.

Background: Competency-based education and simulation are being used more frequently in surgical skills curricula. We explored a novel student-led learning paradigm, which allows trainees to become more active participants in the learning process while maintaining expert guidance and supervision.

Methods: Twelve first-year orthopedic residents were randomized to either a student-led (SL) or a traditional instructor-led group during an intensive, month-long, laboratory-based technical skills training course.