Work related stress among gynecologic oncologists

Objective

Up to one third of oncologists experience burnout. The objective was to determine correlates of work related stress in gynecologic oncologists (GOs).

Methods

Using an online tool, we surveyed 273 members of the International Gynecologic Cancer (IGCS) Society (60% from North America) to examine demographic, psychological and spiritual correlates of work related stress (WRS) and burnout. Measures of death anxiety (DA) and locus of control (LOC) were also administered.

Results

WRS did not correlate with religion, religiosity, race, or gender, but did correlate with DA (r = 0.23, p = 0.0006). WRS was also associated with younger age (p = 0.01) and fewer years out of training (p = 0.0286), higher scores on LOC Chance (r = 0.18, p = 0.007), higher scores on Powerful Other (r = 0.30, p < 0.0001), and lower scores on LOC Internality (r = − 0.30, p < 0.0001).

Conclusion

Responses from younger and less experienced GOs, correlate with higher WRS scores especially if their LOC is weighted toward chance and powerful others. Responses of GO's with these two characteristics also correlate with higher DA scores and reports of difficulty talking about death.     

CB6-01: Is Quality Assurance a Commodity?

Background/Aims Quality Assurance is a broad term with widely varying expectations about the nature of QA activities. The HMORN Virtual Data Warehouse (VDW) has an expanding set of quality assurance data checks. These checks improve the reliability and consistency of the data across sites. By reviewing several real-world examples, we will step through and evaluate several of the 'FYings' of quality assurance work. Q1: Can we justiFY QA? Q2: Can we codiFY QA? Q3: Can we quantiFY QA? Q4: Can we demystiFY QA? And finally Q5: Can we commodiFY QA? Methods Masking site information, we will review specific examples of current quality assurance work, asking each question for each example. We will then describe each set of QA activities and include tables, graphs, comments, dissemination information, actions (or inactions) that happen after the QA review. Results Quality assurance is definitely a hot topic, although perhaps misunderstood. We often think there are electriFYing moments when we discover and save a project from disaster. We think it will indemniFY our projects from failure. Investigators ediFY it. But have we convinced funders to commodiFY QA? Discussion We will clariFY whether quality assurance is a commodity.     

Side of lesion influences interhemispheric inhibition in subjects with post-stroke hemiparesis

OBJECTIVE: To examine changes in interhemispheric inhibition (IHI) during homologous muscle activation in healthy subjects and in people with hemiparesis. METHODS: IHI in the abductor pollicus brevis (APB) muscle was examined using paired transcranial magnetic stimulation. Stimuli were delivered while the target APB was at rest or activated, and while the non-target contralateral APB was at rest or activated. RESULTS: In control subjects, IHI in the resting target APB was enhanced during activation of the contralateral APB, and was greater from the dominant hemisphere to the non-dominant. In stroke subjects, IHI in the non-affected APB was not modulated during voluntary activation of the affected APB, but was influenced by the prior dominance of affected hemisphere. Bilateral muscle activation did not elicit any changes in IHI in either group. CONCLUSIONS: IHI is asymmetrical between hemispheres but only when the target muscle is at rest. Subjects with stroke have an impaired ability to modulate IHI during unilateral muscle activation. SIGNIFICANCE: In people with stroke, the extent and modulation of interhemispheric transfer is influenced by the prior dominance of the affected hemisphere. This may impact on the efficacy of treatment interventions incorporating bilateral activation.