title: Incorporating Postoperative Debriefing Into Surgical Education.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We investigated the feasibility and utility of a postoperative "debriefing" process to improve the educational value of surgical procedures.
  
  
  METHODS
  Residents provided a baseline preintervention assessment of personal and attending surgeon current practice for seeking and receiving feedback on performance after an operative case. Surgeons subsequently were educated (the intervention) about the purpose and content of the postoperative debriefing initiative. Each resident completed 8 surgical cases (minimum) in which the debriefing process occurred. A survey was completed after each debriefing and at study completion that inquired about utility, educational value, and feasibility. Descriptive results are reported and comparisons made with Fisher's exact tests, when appropriate.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In all, 69% of residents felt the attending surgeon "sometimes or always" identified aspects of the case that they performed competently preintervention compared with 93% postintervention. Overall, 56% of residents were aware of the attending surgeon's impression of their performance preintervention compared with 93% postintervention. Nearly all residents planned on making postoperative debriefing a routine part of self-assessment (93%). Most felt that the duration of time required for debriefing was "just right" (93%) and felt that the process to be "easy and effective" (86%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Resident respondents indicated the postoperative debriefing process was educational, desirable, and feasible. We have made the postoperative debriefing a routine practice in the surgical education of Vanderbilt Otolaryngology residents.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology; Center for Surgical Quality and Outcomes Research, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennesse.
authors.forename: David O
authors.initials: DO
authors.lastname: Francis
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology.
authors.forename: Roland D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Eavey
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology.
authors.forename: Harry V
authors.initials: HV
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology. Electronic address: robert.sinard@vanderbilt.edu.
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Sinard
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate / Q000379:methods; D004521:Educational Measurement; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005246:Feedback; D005260:Female; D013502:General Surgery / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D008297:Male; D011184:Postoperative Period; D012647:Self-Assessment
keywords: Medical Knowledge; Patient Care; Practice-Based Learning and Improvement; feedback; post-surgical debriefing; surgical education