Improving the quality of dictated operative reports conducted by surgical residents: evidence for effectiveness of a teaching module

Abstract

A dictated operative report (DOR) is an important communication tool that documents procedural details. DO Rs are unique to each surgical event and are required every time a surgeon performs a procedure. Despite their importance, their quality is often poor. The guidelines published by surgical associations, moreover, are vague, and this skill is rarely taught in surgical residency programs. The present study examines the effectiveness of a one-hour teaching module designed to enhance the quality ofDORs. Twenty-five surgical residents attended a teaching session. Their DOR performance before and after the teaching session was compared with paired samples t-tests. Both the accuracy and quality of their DORs significantly improved, according to the Structured Assessment and Global Quality Rating Scale (p < 0.05). Linguistic dictation skills, however, did not change. lt is clear that with targeted teaching, surgical residents can improve the qua I ity of the content in DO Rs.