Connie Gan

All Publications

• Should I Do a General Surgery Away Rotation?: Perspectives From the Collaboration of Surgical Education Research Fellows (CoSEF). Annals of surgery open : perspectives of surgical history, education, and clinical approaches McDermott, C. E., Anand, A., Brian, R., Gan, C., L'Huillier, J. C., Lund, S., Sathe, T., Silvestri, C., Woodward, J. M. 2024; 5 (4): e509

  View details for DOI 10.1097/AS9.0000000000000509

  View details for PubMedID 39711667

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC11661735

• Find Your Perfect Match for Surgical Residency: Six Steps to Building your BRANDD from the Collaboration of Surgical Education Fellows. Annals of surgery open : perspectives of surgical history, education, and clinical approaches Woodward, J. M., Lund, S., Brian, R., Anand, A., Moreci, R., Navarro, S. M., Zarate Rodriguez, J., Naaseh, A., Tate, K., Roshal, J., Silvestri, C., Gan, C. Y., Sathe, T., Thornton, S. W., Cloonan, M., Weaver, L., Oh, M. H., Godley, F., L'Huillier, J. C. 2024; 5 (3): e466

  View details for DOI 10.1097/AS9.0000000000000466

  View details for PubMedID 39310337

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC11415090

• Is it gossip or feedback? Surgical attendings' perceptions of gossip within residency. Journal of surgical education L'Huillier, J. C., Woodward, J. M., Lund, S., Gan, C. Y., Moreci, R., Silvestri, C., Brian, R., Zarate Rodriguez, J. G., Roshal, J., White, B. A. 2024; 81 (10): 1362-1373

  Abstract

  Gossip-evaluative talk about an absent third party-exists in surgical residency programs. Attending surgeons may engage in gossip to provide residents with feedback on performance, which may contribute to bias. Nevertheless, the perspectives of attending surgeons on gossip has not been studied.In this qualitative study, semi-structured interviews about gossip in surgical training were conducted with attending surgeons. We performed a reflexive thematic analysis of transcripts with a grounded theory approach to describe attendings' perceptions of their role in gossip within surgical residency.Interviews were conducted from September 23, 2023, to November 27, 2023 via Zoom™.Eighteen surgery attendings associated with 7 surgical training programs were interviewed.Six themes were developed: 1) Attendings typically view gossip with a negative lens; thus, well-intended conversations about resident performance that meet the academic definition of gossip are not perceived as gossip; 2) Gossip can damage attendings' reputations as surgeons and educators; 3) Mitigating the negative impacts of gossip by maintaining accurate and objective standards of honest communication is hard; 4) Attendings express concerns about hearing other attendings' impressions of residents prior to formulating their own opinion; 5) The surgical hierarchy restricts the volume and content of gossip that reaches attendings, which may limit their knowledge of program culture; and 6) It is very difficult to mitigate gossip at the program level. Ultimately, attendings utilize gossip (e.g. triangulating their experience) with the goal of providing residents feedback.Defining important conversations about resident performance as gossip should not discourage these critically important conversations but rather underscore the importance of combating harmful gossip through 3 behaviors: 1) committing to objective communication; 2) limiting or reframing information about resident performance that is shared with attendings who have yet to formulate their own opinions; and 3) regulating gossip in particular high-stakes microenvironments (e.g. the operating room).

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.jsurg.2024.07.004

  View details for PubMedID 39173427

• Differences in coaching in single- versus dual-console robotic cases: a mixed-methods study. Surgical endoscopy Anand, A., Gan, C., Jensen, R., Korndorffer, J. R. 2024

  Abstract

  A growing importance has been placed on development of trainee robotic surgical skills through simulation curricula and intraoperative experience. However, few studies have examined how console case type impacts learning outcomes. We sought to evaluate how intraoperative coaching and resident autonomy differ based on the use of a single- versus dual-console robot.Robotic single- and dual-console cases from February to September 2023 at a single institution were included. Faculty and trainees wore microphones to capture audio during the case. Pre/post surveys were administered, which included metrics on faculty coaching based on the Wisconsin Surgical Coaching Rubric (WiSCoR) and on trainee technical performance based on the Global Evaluative Assessment of Robotic Skills (GEARS). Statistical analysis of survey data was performed using SPSS. Audio from cases was coded by 2 researchers with a deductive approach using WiSCoR as a framework.Data were collected for 7 (38.9%) single and 11 (61.1%) dual-console cases across 9 case types from 4 surgical specialties. Chi-square analysis demonstrated no significant difference in percentage of case trainee spent in the operating surgeon role based on trainee level or console case type. Independent t-tests showed no significant difference in trainee autonomy, trainee performance, or faculty coaching scores based on console case type. Trainees rated faculty highest in WiSCoR Domains 1 (sharing responsibility) and 3 (providing constructive feedback). Qualitative analysis showed that for single-console cases, Domain 4 (goal setting) was most represented (34.0% of comments), while for dual-console cases, Domain 1 was most represented (37.0% of comments).Qualitative analysis highlights that despite similar survey-based faculty ratings across domains, coaching on self-reflection (Domain 2) is infrequently done, highlighting an opportunity for improvement in this area of coaching during robotic surgery.

  View details for DOI 10.1007/s00464-024-11039-8

  View details for PubMedID 39090198

  View details for PubMedCentralID 8408081

• Reimagining general surgery resident selection: Collaborative innovation through design thinking. Surgery open science Sathe, T. S., L'Huillier, J. C., Moreci, R., Lund, S., Brian, R., Silvestri, C., Gan, C., McDermott, C., Atkinson, A., Navarro, S. M., Broecker, J., Woodward, J. M., Johnston, T., Laconi, N., Williams, J., Thornton, S. 2024; 19: 223-229

  Abstract

  The process by which surgery residency programs select applicants is complex, opaque, and susceptible to bias. Despite attempts by program directors and educational researchers to address these issues, residents have limited ability to affect change within the process at present. Here, we present the results of a design thinking brainstorm to improve resident selection and propose this technique as a framework for surgical residents to creatively solve problems and generate actionable changes.Members of the Collaboration of Surgical Education Fellows (CoSEF) used the design thinking framework to brainstorm ways to improve the resident selection process. Members participated in one virtual focus group focused on identifying pain points and developing divergent solutions to those pain points. Pain points and solutions were subsequently organized into themes. Finally, members participated in a second virtual focus group to design prototypes to test the proposed solutions.Sixteen CoSEF members participated in one or both focus groups. Participants identified twelve pain points and 57 potential solutions. Pain points and solutions were grouped into the three themes of transparency, fairness, and applicant experience. Members subsequently developed five prototype ideas that could be rapidly developed and tested to improve resident selection.The design thinking framework can help surgical residents come up with creative ideas to improve pain points within surgical training. Furthermore, this framework can supplement existing quantitative and qualitative methods within surgical education research. Future work will be needed to implement the prototypes devised during our sessions and turn them into complete interventions.In this paper, we demonstrate the results of a resident-led design thinking brainstorm on improving resident selection in which our team identified twelve pain points in resident selection, ideated 57 solutions, and developed five prototypes for further testing. In addition to sharing our results, we believe design thinking can be a useful framework for creative problem solving within surgical education.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.sopen.2024.05.006

  View details for PubMedID 38846775

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC11152970