Telepathy: maximizing resident exposure to surgical pathology decision making

General surgery residents are often not present for the critical intraoperative discussion between surgeon and pathologist regarding surgical pathology findings. A prospective pilot study analyzed general surgery resident exposure to surgical pathology. Thereafter, an operating room was equipped to...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American journal of surgery 2006-04, Vol.191 (4), p.538-541
Main Authors: McLemore, Elisabeth C., Schlinkert, Richard T., Schlinkert, Denise K., Williams, James W., Bailey, David P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Communications networks
Decision Making
Frozen Sections
General aspects
Health participants
Hospitals
Humans
Internship and Residency
Medical sciences
Pathology
Pathology, Surgical - education
Pathology, Surgical - standards
Pilot Projects
Program Evaluation
Prospective Studies
Public health. Hygiene
Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
Questionnaires
Surgery
Surgical education
Surgical pathology
Surveys and Questionnaires
Telecommunications
Telepathology
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Summary:General surgery residents are often not present for the critical intraoperative discussion between surgeon and pathologist regarding surgical pathology findings. A prospective pilot study analyzed general surgery resident exposure to surgical pathology. Thereafter, an operating room was equipped to view frozen section images in real time and verbally communicate with the pathologist (TelePATHy). Total operative cases, cases using frozen sections, and use of TelePATHy were recorded. Most residents (78%) reported they were exposed to frozen-section surgical pathology ≤10% of the time. Overall, 202 operations were performed over the 123-day period. Forty-four cases had frozen-section specimens. General surgery residents were present for 40 cases. TelePATHy was successfully used in 32 cases (80%). General surgery resident exposure to intraoperative pathology findings increased from a reported ≤10% to an observed 80%. TelePATHy is a novel intraoperative tool capable of maximizing the intraoperative experience of the surgical resident.
ISSN:0002-9610
1879-1883
DOI:10.1016/j.amjsurg.2005.09.010