ACGME Operative Case Log Accuracy Varies Among Surgical Programs.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Training
• Healthcare Informatics

Background:

• Accurate resident operative case logs are crucial for Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) compliance and competency assessment.
• Discrepancies between reported logs and actual operative records may impact training evaluation and program oversight.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the accuracy of ACGME operative case logs against institutional operating room electronic records (ORER).
• To identify factors influencing case logging accuracy among surgical residents.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective, cross-sectional analysis comparing ACGME and ORER cases for general surgery, neurosurgery, and orthopedic surgery residents.
• Analysis of 11,923 cases from 46 residents at a single academic tertiary-care medical center.

Main Results:

• Overall logging accuracy was 72%.
• Orthopedic surgery residents demonstrated higher accuracy (91%) compared to general surgery (69%) and neurosurgery (58%).
• A strong positive correlation was found between the number of cases performed and logging accuracy (rho=0.769).

Conclusions:

• ACGME case logs capture only 72% of resident operative experience, with significant inter-program variability.
• Low case log accuracy may reflect individual resident practices rather than program limitations.
• Further research is needed to determine if ORER can provide a more comprehensive assessment of resident operative experience.