Can 360-Degree Reviews Help Surgeons?

Evaluation of Multi-source Feedback for Surgeons in a Multi-Institutional Quality Improvement Project.

Journal of the American College of Surgeons.  Nurudeen S, Kwakye G, Berry WR, Chaikof EL, Lillemoe KD, Millham F, Rubin M, Schwaitzberg S, Shamberger RC, Zinner MJ, Sato L, Lipsitz S, Gawande Atul, Haynes AB. (J Am Coll Surg. 2015 Oct;221(4):837-44. doi: 10.1016/j.jamcollsurg.2015.06.017. Epub 2015 Jul 23)

Journal of the American College of Surgeons JACS

 

 

 

Press release from the Journal of the American College of Surgeons:

“Multisource feedback does not give people grades or try to regulate behavior. It provides tools for identifying how we can be better at what we do every day. In this study we assessed not only how well surgeons perform the technical aspects of surgery but also how they interact with people in the OR who contribute to patient safety and care and the individuals who guide the patient from the physician’s office to the hospital, from one part of the hospital to the OR, and from recovery to home,” according to lead author and surgical oncologist Alex B. Haynes, MD, MPH, associate director for the Safe Surgery Program at Ariadne Labs.

From the Abstract:
Medical organizations have increased interest in identifying and improving behaviors that threaten team performance and patient safety. 360-degree evaluations of surgeons were performed at eight academically-affiliated hospitals with a common Code of Excellence. We here evaluate participant perceptions and make recommendations for future use.

Conclusion:
360-degree evaluations can provide a practical, systematic, and subjectively-accurate assessment of surgeon performance without undue reviewer burden. The process was found to result in beneficial behavior change according to surgeons and their co-workers.

 

Click below for the complete Journal of the American College of Surgeons article:

http://www.journalacs.org/article/S1072-7515(15)00455-X/abstract
(Journal of the American College of Surgeons-Can 360 Degree Reviews Help Surgeons – Atul Gawande, William Berry, Alex Haynes, Harvard Surgery Chiefs et al.)