Resident work hour reforms: implications regarding hip fracture surgery

Variation in National ACGME Case Log Data for Pediatric Orthopaedic Fellowships: Are Fellow Coding Practices Responsible?

BACKGROUND

The introduction of the 80-hour work week for Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) accredited fellowship programs initiated many efforts to optimize surgical training. One particular area of interest is on recording and tracking surgical experiences. The current standard is logging cases based on Current Procedural Terminology codes, which are primarily designed for billing. Proposed guidelines from the ACGME regarding logging exist, but their implementation is unknown, as is the variation in case volume across fellowship programs. The purpose of this study was to investigate variability in the national case log data, and explore potential sources of variation using fellow surveys.

METHODS

National ACGME case log data for pediatric orthopaedic fellowships from 2012 to 2015 were reviewed, with particular attention to the domains of spine, pelvis/hip, arthroscopy, trauma, and other (which includes clubfoot casting). To explore potential sources of case log variability, a survey on case logging behavior was distributed to all pediatric orthopaedic fellows for the academic year 2015 to 2016.

RESULTS

Reported experiences based on ACGME case logs varied widely between fellows with percentage difference of up to 100% in all areas. Similarly, wide variability is present in coding practices of pediatric orthopaedic fellows, who often lack formal education on the topic of appropriate coding/logging. In the survey, hypothetical case scenarios had an absolute difference in recorded codes of up to 13 and a percentage difference of up to 100%.

CONCLUSIONS

ACGME case log data for pediatric orthopaedic fellowships demonstrates wide variability in reported surgical experiences. This variability may be due, in part, to differences in logging practices by individual fellows. This observation makes meaningful interpretation of national data on surgical volume challenging. Proposed surgical experience minimums should be interpreted in light of these data, and may not be advisable unless accompanied by standardized and specific guidelines for case log entry. Efforts to optimize training in the post 80-hour era will require accurate data to serve as a starting point for future educational efforts.

Noticeable Variations in the Educational Exposure During Residency in Danish Orthopedic Departments

OBJECTIVE

The objective of the study was to examine the educational exposure during residency in Danish orthopedic departments.

DESIGN

Questionnaire-based cross-sectional study.

SETTING

Data were gathered from January 1, 2014 to April 30, 2014 through a nationwide web-based questionnaire containing 15 questions within the areas of workload, surgical procedures, outpatient clinic, and research activities. The residents targeted worked at small-to-large hospitals and in tertiary care centers.

PARTICIPANTS

Every resident in Denmark (n = 163) with at least 3 active months at a department was included. Questionnaires with less than 80% completion were excluded. In total, 152 entries were registered. Among those, 27 did not meet the inclusion criteria and 29 were excluded, leaving 96 participants, representing 22 of 26 departments, for further analysis.

RESULTS

The average number of operative procedures as primary surgeon was 16 (range: 8-35) per month. In all, 18 of 22 (81%) departments offered the possibility to participate in research facilitated by the department and 38 of 96 (40%) worked for free (an average of 10h a month [range: 3-60]) to increase the amount of surgical procedures.

CONCLUSIONS

A large variation in the educational exposure was found among the Danish orthopedic departments. Numbers indicate that Danish residents, compared with their US counterparts, operate considerably less during residency. Most residents work overtime and many of them work for free to participate in more surgical procedures.