Interobserver variation in the evaluation of neurological signs: observer dependent factors.

Introduction - Interobserver variation among four observers in evaluation of eight selected neurological signs was investigated. Material & methods - Two hundred and two consecutive unselected inpatients were examined by two senior neurologists and two trainees, all without knowledge of the neurological case history. The signs examined were: anisocoria, jerky eye movements, facial palsy, elbow extension force, finger-nose test, Barré sign, knee jerk, and extensor plantar reflex. Observed agreement rates and kappa coefficients were calculated in order to compare the interobserver variability among neurologists and trainees, and to evaluate differences in the interobserver variability between signs. Results - Observed agreement rates varied from 0.80 to 0.95 for neurologists and from 0.65 to 0.98 for trainees. For neurologists kappa coefficients ranged from 0.40 to 0.67 and for trainees from 0.22 to 0.81. The neurologists had higher kappa values than the trainees in 5 signs, but this difference was only statistically significant for jerky eye movements. For the individual signs the observed agreement rates were between 0.50 and 0.93 for all four examiners combined, and overall kappa values varied from 0.32 to 0.71 with highest agreement for facial palsy and lowest for knee jerk. Conclusion - The magnitude of the interobserver and intersign variation indicates that the interpretation of the neurological signs tested, without knowledge of the case history, should be done with some caution.     

Confidence of pediatric trainees in dermatologic conditions,preferred learning styles,and suggested improvements to training

Dermatological conditions in children often present initially to general pediatricians. Senior pediatric trainees in the UK were surveyed regarding their experience and confidence in diagnosis and management with skin conditions, and their satisfaction with postgraduate training. Confidence was reasonable in common conditions but lower for emergencies, reflecting a lack of exposure, and satisfaction with training was low. On the job learning and clinic attendance were felt to be most beneficial, alongside learning from specialist review, however dermatologists were not found to be accessible. Informal learning methods are key within postgraduate education and educators must maximise learning opportunities. Dermatologists can play a vital role by encouraging trainees to learn from feedback following specialist review.     

Promoting Responsible Electronic Documentation: Validity Evidence for a Checklist to Assess Progress Notes in the Electronic Health Record

Construct: We aimed to develop an instrument to measure the quality of inpatient electronic health record– (EHR–) generated progress notes without requiring raters to review the detailed chart or know the patient. Background: Notes written in EHRs have generated criticism for being unnecessarily long and redundant, perpetuating inaccuracy and obscuring providers' clinical reasoning. Available assessment tools either focus on outpatient progress notes or require chart review by raters to develop familiarity with the patient. Approach: We used medical literature, local expert review, and attending focus groups to develop and refine an instrument to evaluate inpatient progress notes. We measured interrater reliability and scored the selected-response elements of the checklist for a sample of 100 progress notes written by PGY-1 trainees on the general medicine service. Results: We developed an instrument with 18 selected-response items and four open-ended items to measure the quality of inpatient progress notes written in the EHR. The mean Cohen's kappa coefficient demonstrated good agreement at .67. The mean note score was 66.9% of maximum possible points (SD = 10.6, range = 34.4%–93.3%). Conclusions: We present validity evidence in the domains of content, internal structure, and response process for a new checklist for rating inpatient progress notes. The scored checklist can be completed in approximately 7 minutes by a rater who is not familiar with the patient and can be done without extensive chart review. We further demonstrate that trainee notes show substantial room for improvement.     

中药临床药师培训结业学员返岗工作现状调研

目的了解中药临床药师培训结业学员返岗后的工作现状。方法采用"问卷星"在线调研平台,通过微信方式向已结束中药临床药师培训的学员发放调查问卷,收集结业学员的工作地、所在医院级别、年龄、职称等基本信息,以及返岗后的工作去向、工作内容、临床认可度、培训建议等信息,分析结业学员的工作现状。结果中药临床药师培训学员已覆盖全国30个省、自治区、直辖市,共结业878人,回收调查问卷757份。学员返岗后从事临床药学工作的占77.94%;每周参与临床工作时间占比超过1/2周的仅25.25%,主要原因是科室其他事务繁忙,学员认为能胜任自身工作或能获得临床认可的分别占97.80%和73.73%,92.71%的学员愿意继续从事临床药学工作;96.30%的学员觉得培训非常受益,对培训基地的建议主要集中在培训内容、培训方式、带教等方面。结论绝大部分学员中药临床药师培训结业学员返岗后愿意并能从事临床药师工作,培训基地将不断优化培训模式和内容,努力为中药临床药师行业的发展贡献力量。     

Histopathology of bilateral lower extremity inflammatory lymphedema in military basic trainees: A leukocytoclastic vasculitis of the deep vascular plexus

Bilateral lower extremity inflammatory lymphedema (BLEIL) is a recently described condition that presents with exquisite tenderness, erythema and edema of the lower leg, ankle and dorsal foot resembling an acute cellulitis. It was first reported in healthy, young adult military basic trainees with a normal body mass index during the first 72 hours of arrival to basic training. It occurs while standing at attention for many hours, and shows rapid resolution with elevation and rest. We report an additional case of BLEIL and describe the histopathology of this case and 2 of the previously reported cases. All 3 biopsies showed a deep perivascular infiltrate of neutrophils with karyorrhectic debris and prominent red blood cell extravasation. One of the 3 cases was positive for complement by direct immunofluorescence. We postulate this condition represents a deep leukocytoclastic vascultis with secondary reactive lymphedematous changes.