High level of patient satisfaction and comfort during diagnostic urological procedures performed by urologists and residents

Inpatient Satisfaction With Surgical Resident Care After Elective General and Oncologic Surgery

OBJECTIVE

To investigate inpatient satisfaction with surgical resident care.

BACKGROUND

Surgical trainees are often the primary providers of care to surgical inpatients, yet patient satisfaction with surgical resident care is not well characterized or routinely assessed.

METHODS

English-speaking, general surgery inpatients recovering from elective gastrointestinal and oncologic surgery were invited to complete a survey addressing their satisfaction with surgical resident care. Patients positively identified photos of surgical senior residents and interns before completing a modified version of the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Surgical Care Survey (S-CAHPS). Adapted S-CAHPS items were scored using the "top-box" method.

RESULTS

Ninety percent of recruited patients agreed to participate (324/359, mean age=62.2, 50.3% male). Patients were able to correctly identify their seniors and interns 85% and 83% of the time, respectively ( P =0.14). On a 10-point scale, seniors had a mean rating of 9.23±1.27 and interns had a mean rating of 9.01±1.49 ( P =0.14). Ninety-nine percent of patients agreed it was important to help in the education of future surgeons.

CONCLUSIONS

Surgical inpatients were able to recognize their resident physicians with high frequency and rated resident care highly overall, suggesting that they may serve as a willing source of feedback regarding residents' development of core competencies such as interpersonal skills, communication, professionalism, and patient care. Future work should investigate how to best incorporate patient evaluation of surgical resident care routinely into trainee assessment to support resident development.

A Pilot Study of Inpatient Satisfaction Rating of Surgical Resident Care

OBJECTIVE

To describe inpatient satisfaction with surgical resident care given the increasing importance of patient satisfaction as a quality metric.

DESIGN

Surgical inpatients were invited to complete a survey that addressed their satisfaction with and attitudes regarding surgical resident care. The survey was based on the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Surgical Care Survey (S-CAHPS). Patients were required to positively identify photos of resident physicians prior to providing ratings. Adapted S-CAHPS items were scored using the "top-box" method.

SETTING

Massachusetts General Hospital, a tertiary academic center.

PARTICIPANTS

General surgery inpatients recovering from elective, major abdominal surgery were recruited on postoperative days 2 to 4.

RESULTS

Ninety-one percent of approached patients participated (102/112, mean age = 62.9, 51.6% male). Patients positively identified both seniors and interns 88% of the time. Thirteen seniors and 19 interns were rated, with 1 to 14 evaluations per trainee. Overall quality of care ratings for seniors and interns were 9.35 and 9.09, respectively (0-10 scale, 10 = "best possible care"). Sixty-three percent of senior resident evaluations and 60% of intern evaluations received a score of 10. The proportion of residents receiving top-box scores ranged from 59.5% to 97.7% depending on the item. Forty percent of senior resident and 38% of intern evaluations received top-box scores for all 8 items. Over 96% of patients reported strong or moderate agreement with the statements "I feel it is important to help in the education of future surgeons."

CONCLUSIONS

Surgical inpatients willingly completed ratings about their surgery residents, typically can recognize their resident physicians, and rate quality of care highly. Despite many high ratings, there is room for improvement in some S-CAHPS domains. These results indicate patients are a valuable source of feedback regarding a resident's progress in several core competencies such as interpersonal skills, communication, professionalism, and patient care.