This cohort study examines whether the specific word and phrase frequency used in physician trainee narrative evaluations of medical faculty and qualified by automated text mining is associated with the gender of the faculty member evaluated.

BACKGROUND:Residency training is charged with improving resident teaching skills. Utilizing simulation in teacher training has unique advantages such as providing a controlled learning environment and opportunities for deliberate practice.

Background The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Milestones were created as a criterion-based framework to promote competency-based education during graduate medical education. Despite widespread implementation across subspecialty programs, extensive validity evidence supporting the use of milestones within fellowship training is lacking.Objective We assessed the construct and response process validity of milestones in subspecialty fellowship programs in an academic medical center.Methods From 2014-2016, we performed a single center retrospective cohort analysis of milestone data from fellows across 5 programs. We analyzed summary statistics and performed multivariable linear regression to assess change in milestone ratings by training year and variability in ratings across fellowship programs. Finally, we examined a subset of Professionalism and Interpersonal and Communication Skills subcompetencies from the first 6 months of training to identify the proportion of fellows deemed ''ready for independent practice'' in these domains. ResultsMilestone data were available for 68 fellows, with 75 933 unique subcompetency ratings. Multivariable linear regression, adjusted for subcompetency and subspecialty, revealed an increase of 0.17 (0.16-0.19) in ratings with each postgraduate year level increase (P , .005), as well as significant variation in milestone ratings across subspecialties. For the Professionalism and Interpersonal and Communication Skills domains, mean ratings within the first 6 months of training were 3.78 and 3.95, respectively. ConclusionsWe noted a minimal upward trend of milestone ratings in subspecialty training programs, and significant variability in implementing milestones across differing subspecialties. This may suggest possible difficulties with the construct validity and response process of the milestone system in certain medical subspecialties.

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In an effort to decrease the spread of hospital-acquired infections, many hospitals currently use disposable plastic stethoscopes in patient rooms. As an alternative, this study examines a prototype electronic stethoscope that does not break the isolation barrier between clinician and patient and may also improve the diagnostic accuracy of the stethoscope exam. This study aimed to investigate whether the new prototype electronic stethoscope improved auscultation of heart sounds compared to the standard conventional isolation stethoscope. In a controlled, non-blinded, cross-over study, clinicians were randomized to identify heart sounds with both the prototype electronic stethoscope and a conventional stethoscope. The primary outcome was the score on a 10-question heart sound identification test. In total, 41 clinicians completed the study. Subjects performed significantly better in the identification of heart sounds when using the prototype electronic stethoscope (median = 9 [7-10] vs. 8 [6-9] points, p value <0.0001). Subjects also significantly preferred the prototype electronic stethoscope. Clinicians using a new prototype electronic stethoscope achieved greater accuracy in identification of heart sounds and also universally favoured the new device, compared to the conventional stethoscope.