Emotional intelligence and the relationship to resident performance: a multi-institutional study

Study ObjectiveTo test the hypothesis that emotional intelligence, as measured by a BarOn Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i), the 125-item version personal inventory (EQ-i:125), correlates with resident performance.DesignSurvey (personal inventory) instrument.SettingFive U.S. academic anesthesiology residency programs.ParticipantsPostgraduate year (PGY) 2, 3, and 4 residents enrolled in university-based anesthesiology residency programs.MeasurementsResidents confidentially completed the BarOn EQ-i:125 personal inventory. The deidentified resident evaluations were sent to the principal investigator of a separate data collection study for data analysis. Data collected from the inventory were correlated with daily evaluations of the residents by residency program faculty. Results of the individual BarOn EQ-i:125 and daily faculty evaluations of the residents were compiled and analyzed.Main ResultsUnivariate correlation analysis and multivariate canonical analysis showed that some aspects of the BarOn EQ-i:125 were significantly correlated with, and likely to be predictors of, resident performance.ConclusionsEmotional intelligence, as measured by the BarOn EQ-i personal inventory, has considerable promise as an independent indicator of performance as an anesthesiology resident.     

The resident application process and its correlation to future performance as a resident

Many authors have attempted to determine predictors for success within a residency program. There is very little agreement about what is useful. We hypothesized that our residency selection process is effective in determining which resident applicants would be most likely to excel in our program. To test this hypothesis, we reviewed the scores that applicants received after their interview day to determine if there was a correlation with any measures used to evaluate residents once they entered residency training. Our results determined that the score given to an applicant fails to correlate with any of the areas that are evaluated throughout their residency. The only statistically significant correlation was between the scores assigned by the selection committee to applicants and the applicant scores on their first year in training examination. We concluded that our residency selection process score does not accurately predict which applicants will excel in our program.     

Emotional intelligence training and its implications for stress,health and performance

This study builds on earlier work (Slaski & Cartwright, 2002), examining the role of Emotional Intelligence (EI) as a moderator in the stress process. A sample of UK managers (n = 60) were given training in emotional intelligence. Pre and post measures were taken relating to EI, stress and health and management performance. The study also incorporated a matched control group. It was found that training resulted in increased EI and improved health and well being. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The emotional intelligence of surgical residents: a descriptive study

BACKGROUND: We assessed educational needs with regard to leadership, communication, and emotional intelligence (EI) among surgical residents. METHODS: General surgery residents (n = 74) were examined using the BarOn Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i) and a 20-item survey. RESULTS: Residents believed that leadership skills were important (mean 4.7, SD .5) and that they had skills in each the five EI areas (overall mean 4.1, SD .8). Both the overall group's EQ-i scores (mean 106.6, SD 11.6), as well as scores on the 20 components of the EQ-i (range of means 102-110), were higher than national norms. Individuals varied substantially on EQ-i subscale scores. CONCLUSIONS: Surgical residents believed that leadership skills are important and scored strongly on both an EI self-assessment and the EQ-i. Specific individual differences in subscale scores can potentially identify areas for direct educational intervention.     

护理人员情绪智力状况调查

目的了解护理人员情绪智力的现状及影响因素。方法应用情绪智力量表对711名护理人员进行调查。结果护理人员情绪智力总分为94.16±12.40,平均得分3.48±0.45。不同年龄、婚姻、文化程度、职称、职位、护龄及工作性质的护理人员情绪智力得分比较,差异有统计学意义(P0.05,P0.01)。结论护理人员情绪智力处于中等偏上水平,其年龄、婚姻、教育程度、职称、职位、工作年限及工作性质是情绪智力的主要影响因素。护理管理者应建立情绪智力培训系统,针对护理人员不同的特点进行情绪智力培训。     

Health,performance and emotional intelligence: an exploratory study of retail managers

Contemporary theories place emotions and self‐regulation at the centre of a dynamic process of stress. Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is the ability to perceive, understand and reflectively manage one's own emotions and those of others. This study, which was situated within the management population (n = 224) of a large retail organization, investigates the relationship between a measure of EQ, subjective stress, distress, general health, morale, quality of working life and management performance. Significant correlations in the expected direction were found, indicating that managers who scored higher in EQ suffered less subjective stress, experienced better health and well‐being, and demonstrated better management performance. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Teaching and learning in the operating room is a two-way street: resident perceptions

BACKGROUND: The transformation of a trainee into a surgeon is influenced strongly by communication patterns in the operating room (OR). In the current era of limited educational opportunities, elucidation of teaching and learning strategies in this environment is critical. The aim of this study was to further understand the elements of an effective communicative instructional interaction (CII) as perceived by surgical residents. METHODS: Qualitative research methodology was used to explore University of British Columbia surgery residents' perceptions of what constitutes an effective CII in the OR. Purposeful sampling was used to select participants from various years of training. Eighteen residents participated in semistructured interviews to facilitate reflection of their OR experiences. Interviews were transcribed, analyzed, and fed back to residents to confirm their accuracy. Independent coding and analysis led to the development of key emergent themes. RESULTS: Themes represented the interplay of ideals expressed by the residents. The primary emergent theme was that both teacher and learner play a major role in the creation of an effective CII. The ideal teacher had an instructional plan, facilitated surgical independence, and showed support and empathy for the surgical resident. The ideal resident was receptive, prepared, and acknowledged limitations. The contextual constraints of the OR played a central role in learning, and residents identified ways to maintain educational value despite primarily nonmodifiable contextual elements (ie, time constraints). CONCLUSIONS: In a unique environment such as the OR, both teacher and learner may benefit by an enhanced understanding of the elements of an effective CII.     

Artificial intelligence model to identify elderly patients with locomotive syndrome: A cross-section study

BackgroundIdentifying elderly individuals with locomotive syndrome is important to prevent disability in this population. Although screening tools for locomotive syndrome are available, these require time commitment and are limited by an individual's ability to complete questionnaires independently. To improve on this limitation, we developed a screening tool that uses information on the distribution of pressure on the plantar surface of the foot with an artificial intelligence (AI)-based decision system to identify patients with locomotor syndrome. Herein, we describe our AI-based system and evaluate its performance.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study of 409 participants (mean age, 73.5 years). A foot scan pressure system was used to record the planter pressure distribution during gait. In the image processing step, we developed a convolutional neural network (CNN) to return the logit of the probability of locomotive syndrome based on foot pressure images. In the logistic regression step of the AI model, we estimated the predictor coefficients, including age, sex, height, weight, and the output of the CNN, based on foot pressure images.ResultsThe AI model improved the identification of locomotive syndrome among elderly individuals compared to clinical data, with an area under curve of 0.84 (95% confidence interval, 0.79–0.88) for the AI model compared to 0.80 (95% confidence interval, 0.75–0.85) for the clinical model. Including the footprint force distribution image significantly improved the prediction algorithm (the net reclassification improvement was 0.675 [95% confidence interval, 0.45–0.90] P < 0.01; the integrated discrimination improvement was 0.059 [95% confidence interval, 0.039–0.088] P < 0.01).ConclusionsThe AI system, which includes force distribution over the plantar surface of the foot during gait, is an effective tool to screen for locomotive syndrome.     

Work–Family Conflict and Job Satisfaction: Emotional Intelligence as a Moderator

The negative impact of work–family conflict (WFC) on employees' well‐being and job‐related outcomes has attracted much research attention recently. A major gap in the literature is which factors could potentially buffer its negative effect on employees. The present study examined the moderating effect of emotional intelligence on the relationship between WFC and job satisfaction in a sample of 212 Chinese high school teachers. On the basis of conservation of resource theory, we hypothesized that emotional intelligence would weaken the negative effect of family‐to‐work and work‐to‐family interference on job satisfaction. Results suggested that WFC (work‐to‐family interference and family‐to‐work interference) was negatively related to job satisfaction and that emotional intelligence weakened the effect of WFC on job satisfaction. These findings provide implications for theories on WFC and emotional intelligence, such as conservation of resource theory. The current study also provides a test of these theories in Chinese culture to support the generalizability of theories developed in previous research. Practical implications for reducing the negative influence of WFC on employees' job satisfaction are also provided, such as the potential value of emotional intelligence for the training and development of employees in teaching professions. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Emotional responses to unintentional and intentional traumatic injuries among urban black men: A qualitative study

PurposeThe burden of injuries is disproportionately concentrated among Black men in the United States. Previous studies suggest that the mental health effects of trauma may vary by the intentionality of the injury (intentional vs. unintentional), yet little is known about this experience among Black men. We explored the emotional responses to traumatic injuries in the context of injury intentionality among Black men in an urban area.MethodsWe conducted semi-structured, qualitative interviews with 74 Black men who were traumatically injured. The interviews took place three months after discharge from the hospital and they were audiotaped, transcribed, and de-identified. We used systematic thematic analysis to identify themes about post-trauma emotional responses to intentional and unintentional injuries.ResultsThe narratives of intentionally injured men revealed persistent exposure to neighborhood violence and their distrust of others including the people they knew and to whom they felt close. Survivors of unintentional injuries did not express a similar distrust of others. Our findings suggest that survivors of intentional injuries experience loss of social support following their injuries.ConclusionsEmotional responses can differ by intentionality of traumatic injury among urban Black men. Intentional injuries may be a marker for chronic exposure to violence and limited social support for recovery. Additional resources should be targeted to survivors of intentional injury who return to disadvantaged communities after medical treatment to decrease risk of re-traumatization and adverse emotional responses.     

The National Pediatric Surgery Simulation Program in France: A tool to develop resident training in pediatric surgery

Background/Purpose

To implement resident curriculum in France based on theoretical teaching and bed side training, the national council known as the “Collège Hospitalier et Universitaire de Chirurgie Pédiatrique” examined the relevance and feasibility of systematically introducing simulation program in the pediatric surgery resident training.

Evaluation of physician performance using a concurrent-read artificial intelligence system to support breast ultrasound interpretation

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to compare the diagnostic performance and the interpretation time of breast ultrasound examination between reading without and with the artificial intelligence (AI) system as a concurrent reading aid.Material and methodsA fully crossed multi-reader and multi-case (MRMC) reader study was conducted. Sixteen participating physicians were recruited and retrospectively interpreted 172 breast ultrasound cases in two reading scenarios, once without and once with the AI system (BU-CAD™, TaiHao Medical Inc.) assistance for concurrent reading. Interpretations of any given case set with and without the AI system were separated by at least 5 weeks. These reading results were compared to the reference standard and the area under the LROC curve (AUCLROC), sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) were calculated for performance evaluations. The interpretation time was also compared between the unaided and aided scenarios.ResultsWith the help of the AI system, the readers had higher diagnostic performance with an increase in the average AUCLROC from 0.7582 to 0.8294 with statistically significant. The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV were also improved from 95.77%, 24.07%, 44.18%, and 93.50%–98.17%, 30.67%, 46.91%, and 96.10%, respectively. Of these, the improvement in specificity reached statistical significance. The average interpretation time was significantly reduced by approximately 40% when the readers were assisted by the AI system.ConclusionThe concurrent-read AI system improves the diagnostic performance in detecting and diagnosing breast lesions on breast ultrasound images. In addition, the interpretation time is effectively reduced for the interpreting physicians.     

Mortality rates among Swedish physicians: a population-based nationwide study with special reference to anesthesiologists

BACKGROUND: Recent studies both in the UK and in the USA have indicated a higher mortality rate among anesthesiologists than among other physicians. We therefore decided to investigate the situation in Sweden during the years 1993-99. METHODS: All 26086 doctors in Sweden with a specialist licence in 1993, including those who were retired or who received one until 1999, were identified in official records and followed up regarding survival until 1999; generating approximately 179300 person-years. RESULTS: Overall, 893 deaths occurred during the 7-year follow up. Mean age at death was 72.9 years in the whole population, the lowest being 64.1 years among the anesthesiologists and the highest 77.0 among the pediatricians. However, there were large differences in the age and sex distribution among the specialties. For this reason a series of proportional hazard regression analyses (Cox's) of the mortality rates in the various specialty groups were performed, taking into account the influence of age and gender differences. After this procedure anesthesiologists had a 46% higher mortality rate and pediatricians a 24% lower mortality rate than other specialist groups; both deviations being statistically significant. All other specialties had a mortality risk within the expected range. Anesthesiologists tended to have higher rates than other specialists for most underlying causes of death. CONCLUSION: Anesthesiologists have a higher mortality rate than other specialties. The cause is so far unknown. However, it is unlikely to be caused by obvious confounders such as age, gender, or smoking habits. Other factors linked to occupational exposure should be investigated.     

Androgens and bladder outlet obstruction: a correlation with pressure-flow variables in a preliminary study

OBJECTIVES

To determine the relationship between androgens, lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and urodynamic variables of bladder outlet obstruction (BOO) in patients with LUTS/benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), as androgens are important in the pathogenesis of LUTS.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Twenty‐five men with symptomatic BPH were enrolled in the study and had a complete urodynamic investigation, establishing BOO. Age, prostate‐specific antigen level, prostate volume and postvoid residual volume were recorded and the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) was estimated. Detrusor pressure at maximum flow (P_detQ_max), at urethral closure (P_detCl, the pressure at the end of urinary flow) and maximum detrusor pressure (P_detmax) was recorded, while detrusor overactivity (DO) was noted when present. Blood samples were collected to measure total testosterone (T), and free T (FT) was calculated. Patients were grouped according to FT levels as low (<72 pg/mL) and normal (FT ≥72 pg/mL).

RESULTS

Ten patients had a low FT level, with a mean (sd ) of 54.3 (16.5) pg/mL, and 15 a normal level of FT, of 90.5 (11) pg/mL. FT was negatively correlated with P_detCl, and P_detQ_max; the mean P_detCl and P_detQ_max differed significantly between patients with low and normal FT levels. Fourteen patients had DO and they had significantly lower levels of FT than those with no DO. All patients with a FT level of <60 pg/mL had DO, and the presence of instability differed significantly from the rest of the group.

CONCLUSIONS

Low T levels in clinical BOO correlated negatively with P_detCl and P_detQ_max, while promoting DO. Androgen seems to have an ameliorating role in lower urinary tract function.     

Emotional experiences one year after a traffic accident: An exploratory study of verbatim accounts of the ESPARR cohort

The aim of this study was to characterize different possible profiles of emotional experiences of victims of traffic accident based on verbatim accounts collected one year after the accident, and to relate these profiles to various socio-demographic and health data. A hierarchical cluster analysis of the emotional lexicon was made by categorizing and quantifying the EMOTAIX© lexicon using Tropes© text analysis software. Out of the 751 selected subjects, 328 expressed one or more emotional experiences. A link appeared between quality of life (QoL), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and the valence of expressed emotions. Injury severity and history distinguished two sets expressing negative-valence emotional experience. Paradoxically, a group also emerged with a large proportion of severely injured persons, associated with the expression of positive-valence emotional experiences and with domains of QoL and PTSD. The analysis of subjective data sheds light on the experience of traffic accident victims and shows a way forward for research and clinical intervention.     

Achieving educational excellence: a strategic initiative to enhance orthopedic resident academic performance

Orthopedic resident training involves not only the hands-on learning of surgery but also should equally involve instructing the core knowledge of musculoskeletal medicine. Our program has developed a strategy that enhances resident educational performance; the educational curriculum entails conferences daily. Conferences include gross and surgical anatomy, orthopedic basic science, multidisciplinary trauma, radiology, pathology, journal club, and orthopedic subspecialty conferences. The primary purpose of the conference schedule is to provide the residents with a comprehensive education in orthopedic surgery. It is not geared toward taking the Orthopaedic In-Training Examination (OITE). The OITE is administered annually by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) and serves as an objective measure of knowledge acquisition. There has been a scientifically validated correlation between performance on the OITE and passage of the American Board for Orthopaedic Surgery Part I Examination. As a collective program, we have achieved at or above the 98th percentile nationally from 2004 to 2009. This academic success has not impacted the total surgical case volume negatively or interfered with Residency Review Committee (RRC) policies.     

Simulation improves resident performance in catheter-based intervention: results of a randomized, controlled study

OBJECTIVES: Surgical simulation has been shown to enhance the training of general surgery residents. Since catheter-based techniques have become an important part of the vascular surgeon's armamentarium, we explored whether simulation might impact the acquisition of catheter skills by surgical residents. METHODS: Twenty general surgery residents received didactic training in the techniques of catheter intervention. Residents were then randomized with 10 receiving additional training with the Procedicus, computer-based, haptic simulator. All 20 residents then participated in 2 consecutive mentored catheter-based interventions for lower extremity occlusive disease in an OR/angiography suite. Resident performance was graded by attending surgeons blinded to the resident's training status, using 18 procedural steps as well as a global rating scale. RESULTS: There were no differences between the 2 resident groups with regard to demographics or scores on a visuospatial test administered at study outset. Overall, residents exposed to simulation scored higher than controls during the first angio/OR intervention: procedural steps (simulation/control) (50 +/- 6 vs. 33 +/- 9, P = 0.0015); global rating scale (30 +/- 7 vs. 19 +/- 5, P = 0.0052). The advantage provided by simulator training persisted with the second intervention (53 +/- 6 vs. 36 +/- 7, P = 0.0006); global rating scale (33 +/- 6 vs. 21 +/- 6, P = 0.0015). Moreover, simulation training, particularly for the second intervention, led to enhancement in almost all of the individual measures of performance. CONCLUSION: Simulation is a valid tool for instructing surgical residents and fellows in basic endovascular techniques and should be incorporated into surgical training programs. Moreover, simulators may also benefit the large number of vascular surgeons who seek retraining in catheter-based intervention.     

Clinical competence in the performance of fiberoptic laryngoscopy and endotracheal intubation: a study of resident instruction

Anesthesiologists must be competent in the technique of fiberoptic laryngoscopy and intubation in airway management. The goal of this study was to test the hypothesis that an acceptable level of technical expertise in fiberoptic laryngoscopy and intubation may be acquired within 10 intubations while maintaining patient safety. The learning objectives were an intubation time of 2 minutes or less and greater than 90% success on the first intubation attempt. Ninety-one ASA physical status I-II patients with normal laryngeal anatomy had general anesthesia and were intubated orally with an Olympus LF-1 fiberoptic scope; the mean (+/- SD) time for intubation was 1.92 +/- 1.45 minutes. Four residents with no prior experience with fiberoptic laryngoscopy intubated at least 15 patients each. A learning curve was generated using logarithmic analysis of the mean (+/- SD) time for intubation of patients 1 to 15 for all residents combined. The curve showed that the mean (+/- SD) intubation time decreased from 4.00 +/- 2.91 to 1.53 +/- 0.76 minutes within the first 10 intubations. After the tenth intubation, the mean time was 1.53 minutes and the percent success on the first attempt at intubation was greater than 95%. There were no clinically important changes in O2 saturation, mean arterial pressure (MAP), or heart rate (HR) as a consequence of fiberoptic intubation. The results suggest that an acceptable level of technical expertise in fiberoptic intubation can be obtained (as defined by the learning objectives) by the tenth intubation, and patient safety is maintained.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)