OR Coaching ProjectOhio State residents can expect feedback from expert surgeon coach within three days of a surgery that is performed as part of our innovative OR Coaching project. As a key element of our residency training program, the coaching is intended to give timely resident-centered comments and constructive ideas for improvement, ultimately accelerating resident preparedness for being an independent surgeon. This active monitoring of each resident’s operative skills and procedure-specific feedback for our residents includes observation and evaluation of 6 cases (lap/open/robotic chole, inguinal hernia, ventral hernia and colectomy) for chief residents and 1-2 cases for PGY2 to PGY4 residents. Following each observed operation, the attending, resident and a designated surgeon coach then fill out the same Surgical Entrustable Professional Activities (SEPAs) evaluation.an aggregated report will be sent to the resident with highlights on the coach’s ratings and feedback. Residents have noted how the program has helped them understand the positive impact of even small procedural changes and helped them correct potentially negative habits before they become ingrained.

More information please see our following publications:

  • Chen XP, Harzman A, Cochran A, Ellison EC. Evaluation of an instrument to assess resident surgical entrustable professional activities (SEPAs). Am J Surg. 2020 Jul;220(1):4-7. doi: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2019.08.026. Epub 2019 Sep 10. PMID: 31526512.
  • Ellison coaching in the ORChen XP, Cochran A, Harzman AE, Ellison EC. A Novel Operative Coaching Program for General Surgery Chief Residents Improves Operative Efficiency. J Surg Educ. 2021 Jul-Aug;78(4):1097-1102. doi: 10.1016/j.jsurg.2020.12.006. Epub 2020 Dec 23. PMID: 33358340; PMCID: PMC8217072.
  • Chen XP, Go M, Harzman A, Traugott A, Ejaz A, Collins C, Pawlik TM, Ellison EC. Operative Coaching for General Surgery Residents: Review of Implementation Requirements. J Am Coll Surg. 2022 Aug 1;235(2):361-369. doi: 10.1097/XCS.0000000000000217. Epub 2022 Apr 5. PMID: 35839415.