A profile of morbidity and mortality rounds within resident training programs of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons.

OBJECTIVE

To describe the structure and role of morbidity and mortality rounds (MMR) in resident training programs of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons (ACVS).

STUDY DESIGN

Cross-sectional analysis: survey.

SAMPLE POPULATION

ACVS surgical resident program directors.

METHODS

Electronic surveys consisting of 27 questions were sent to the directors of 142 ACVS resident programs.

RESULTS

Forty-five (31.6%) programs completed the survey, including 24 (53.3%) from small animal programs and 21 (46.7%) from large animal programs. Thirty-two (71.1%) programs incorporated regular MMR in their training. The primary goal of these rounds was improvement of patient care (63%) and education (31%). Selection of cases was based on unexpected mortality (80%), unexpected morbidity (77.4%), teaching value (65.7%), and review of medical errors (63%). Twenty-six percent of programs reported conducting formal follow-up for topics discussed during MMR. Ninety-five percent of programs believed that MMR were valuable.

CONCLUSION

MMR are commonly incorporated in surgical resident training programs. The primary objectives of these rounds are to educate residents, refine hospital medical and operational policies, and to improve patient care. The majority of residency programs view MMR as worthwhile. However, the majority of veterinary residency programs fail to follow up MMR with formal initiatives for improvement and objective outcome assessments for issues identified during MMR.