Thoracic & Cardiac Surgery

Handoffs from OR to ICU

Communication failures have been identified as the most important cause of preventable patient harm by The Institute of Medicine/National Academy of Medicine and The Joint Commission (TJC). They are also the major cause of medical malpractice claims. The most error-prone…

Surgeons and Burnout

Between 40% and 65% of surgeons are suffering from at least one symptom of burnout, according to a recent national study. Evidence indicates that burned-out surgeons are more likely to experience negative personal consequences such as addictions, sleep disorders, cardiovascular…

Escalation of Care: A Quality Improvement Initiative

Surgical residents do not always call the attending physician about critical patient events, believing that it is not necessary or that the call will not be welcome. Failure to call for help is associated with failure to rescue, adverse events…