PROPS system: Programs for Residents Operative Performance in Surgery

The education of a general surgeon requires 5 to 6 years after the completion of medical school. The training is unique in that it consists of training in both cognitive and technical skills. A Surgery Residency Program must provide an adequate and balance exposure to the full variety of operative procedures that comprise General Surgery. A computer program has been developed to help the Residency program Director accurately and efficiently track the operative experience of residents. This program will facilitate scheduling so that each resident will have an adequate operative experience and so that balance within the program among the residents can be achieved. Programs for Residents' Operative Performance in Surgery (PROPS) is an efficient, accurate, inexpensive and easy-to-use personal computer based software system that ill capture and store resident's operative data by case, automatically tabulate statistical data relative to the operative experiences of residents, provide management reports for use by the Residency Program Director, facilitate the transfer of Chief Resident data electronically to the Residency Review Committee for General Surgery, and prepare a report to the Board of Surgery for each Chief Resident. In addition, The PROPS system provides an intelligent consulting function to fulfill an even case distribution. This consulting function will help the director to quickly and easily obtain the needed information to make decision regarding resident assignment. The PROPS system has proven to satisfy the Department of Surgery's need for resident operative experience record keeping and report making. After completion of these tasks, a comprehensive tabulation of residents' operative experience at each level of their training program will be developed. This experience with the PROPS system using a relational Data Base Management System (DBMS) is being extended to a larger environment where information is gathered from multiple sources. Specifically, the PROOS system has potential to help with operating room decisions such as scheduling, supplies, room utilization, and reporting.