ACS Bulletin - May 2016

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A LOOK AT THE JOINT COMMISSION FROM RESIDENCY TO RETIREMENT

from an average of 72 to 62 attendees; as a result, the overall attendance only increased by 24 percent, from an average of 116 to 144 participants. Costs and location of the meeting remained unchanged; however, industry interest in supporting the annual meeting increased.

Most residency programs in the state were enthusiastic participants, with some teams traveling nearly 100 miles to the event. Review of the attendance records showed that the introduction of the surgical skills competition increased resident attendance at the Massachusetts Chapter annual meeting nearly twofold, and this increase was maintained over a three-year period, during which the regular member attendance decreased modestly. This finding suggests that the increase in resident attendance likely was correlated to the competition, as no other major programmatic changes were made to the meeting and cost and location were consistent throughout these years.

A model for other chapters

Incorporation of such competitions into ACS chapter meetings can increase resident involvement at the local level. The authors of this column acknowledge that having 10 training programs in relative geographical proximity puts Massachusetts in a unique position, and factors such as distance and limited number of residency programs may create hurdles in some states.

Furthermore, the authors believe that these competitions can be useful in surgical training at the institutional level.

Many programs reported significant internal competition among residents who were determined to make their institution’s team, with members spending a significant amount of time practicing simulated surgical tasks for the competition, which they may not have done otherwise. ♦

FIGURE 1.
ATTENDANCE AT THE
MASSACHUSETTS
CHAPTER MEETING
REFERENCES

1. American College of Surgeons Governors Committee on Chapter Relations. Getting residents involved: The key to chapter success!

2012. Available at: facs.org/~/media/files/ about%20acs/chapters/gettingresidentsinvolved. ashx. Accessed March 28, 2016.

2. Varban OA, Ardestani A, Peyre S, Smink DS. Assessing the effectiveness of surgical skills laboratories: A national survey. Simul Healthc.

2013; 8( 2):91-97.

3. McCluney AL, Vassiliou MC, Kaneva PA, et al. FLS simulator performance predicts intraoperative laparoscopic skill. Surg Endosc.

2007; 21( 11):1991-1995.

4. Enter DH, Lee R, Fann JI, et al. “Top Gun” competition: Motivation and practice narrows the technical skill gap among new cardiothoracic surgery residents. Ann Thorac Surg. 2015;99( 3):870-875; discussion 875-876.

5. Rosser JC Jr., Rosser LE, Savalgi RS. Objective evaluation of a laparoscopic surgical skill program for residents and senior surgeons. Arch Surg. 1998;133( 6):657-661.