VISTA Archived Blogs

Rural Surgery Symposium and Advanced Skills Training a natural draw for locum tenens surgeons

Written by VISTA Staffing | Jul 7, 2014 7:10:00 PM

The Nora Institute for Surgical Patient Safety is hosting the 5th Annual Rural Surgery Symposium in conjunction with a skills course, Patient Safety and Quality in Rural Surgery: Advanced Skills Training for the Rural Surgeon on May 5-8, 2011 in Chicago, IL. This unique course was developed to address the surgeons practicing in rural areas. Recognizing that rural surgeons often have a broader scope of practice, the course covers advanced endoscopy, leadership and communication, emergency urology and gynecology, and basic facial plastic surgery. The course is designed to address technical skills as well as issues related to patient safety and quality. At the American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress in 2009 a survey of rural surgeons was conducted and the course content is based on what rural surgeons told us they wanted to hear. A large percentage of locum tenens surgery positions are in rural areas, so VISTA has been following the development of this course with great interest.

The course director is Dr. Amy Halverson, a colorectal surgeon at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and Director of the Nora Institute for Surgical Patient Safety. The co-directors are Dr. Tyler Hughes and Dr. David Borgstrom. Tyler practices in McPherson, Kansas and is the Editor of the Rural Surgeons Web Portal for the American College of Surgeons. David practices in Cooperstown, NY and has lead the Rural Surgeon’s Symposium for the past several years

For more information and to register for the event, please visithttp://www.surgicalpatientsafety.facs.org/surgical/symposium.html. If you have additional questions, email skillscourses@facs.org.

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS AND OBJECTIVES

5th Annual Rural Surgery Symposium and Workshop

10.5 Credits, Verification Level I

Thursday, May 5 to noon, Friday, May 6

This symposium addresses issues impacting rural surgery, trends in rural surgery practice, and American College of Surgeons (ACS) resources for the rural surgeon.

Objectives

  • Understand the national and local influences on surgical care for rural America.
  • Understand how changes in surgical education may impact future surgical care for rural America.
  • Recognize the influences of healthcare reform on surgical care for rural America.
  • Understand rural healthcare needs and staffing.
  • Understand educational initiatives for rural surgeons.

For more information and to register for the event, please visit

http://www.surgicalpatientsafety.facs.org/surgical/symposium.html.

Patient Safety & Quality in Rural Surgery: Advanced Skills Training for the Rural Surgeon

15 Credits, Verification Level II

1 pm Friday, May 6 to noon, Sunday, May 8

This course is designed to address the scope of practice unique to the rural surgeon. The course content will include web-based didactic material that participants are expected to complete in advance. The on-site portion, held in the Northwestern University Center for Simulation Technology and Immersive Learning, will utilize immersive simulation and hands-on mentored practice to present modules in Surgical Leadership, Advanced Endoscopic Techniques, Emergency Gynecologic Surgery, Urology for the Rural Surgeon, and Plastic Surgery for the Rural Surgeon. Polypectomy will be performed in a porcine colon. State-of-the-art inanimate and virtual reality simulators will be used for the gynecology module. Participants will perform orchipexy and ureteral repair with explanted animal organs. Plastic surgery skills will include facial laceration repair and skin lesion excision.

Participants will be expected to complete a follow-up activity three months after the course.

OBJECTIVES

Surgical Leadership

  • Explain the concept of shared mental model as it relates to a surgical team.
  • List three communication techniques that may be used to facilitate teamwork in the operating room.
  • Lead an operating room team in a preoperative checklist.

Advanced Endoscopic Techniques

  • Demonstrate endomucosal resection in the porcine model.
  • Discuss treatment options for immediate post polypectomy bleeding.

Emergency Gynecologic Surgery

  • Describe the surgical treatment of ovarian torsion.
  • Explain the surgical options for the treatment of ectopic pregnancy.

Urology for the Rural Surgeon

  • Demonstrate the technique of suprapubic tube insertion.
  • Demonstrate the surgical treatment of testicular torsion.
  • Demonstrate the technique of ureteral repair.

Plastic Surgery for the Rural Surgeon

  • Explain principles for facial laceration repair.
  • Determine the appropriate excision for a facial lesion.

 For more information and to register for the event, please visit

http://www.surgicalpatientsafety.facs.org/surgical/symposium.html.