Published in:
01-02-2019 | General Gynecology
“Freshman effect” in gynecologic surgery at a teaching hospital
Published in: Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics | Issue 2/2019
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Purpose
The purpose of this study was to determine the existence of the freshman effect in patients who underwent gynecologic surgery at a teaching hospital by comparing surgical outcomes and morbidity rates between the first academic quarter and other quarters.
Methods
All data were collected prospectively. Between January 2015 and March 2018, patients who underwent gynecologic surgeries during the first academic quarter (March, April, and May in Korea) were retrospectively compared with patients who underwent gynecologic surgeries during other academic quarters (June through February). The primary outcome measure was the incidence of operative complication. Secondary outcomes were the operative time, operative blood loss, and length of hospital stay.
Results
Among 1241 patients who underwent gynecologic surgery during the study period of 39 months, 1136 patients were analyzed for this study and divided into groups according to the first academic quarter (n = 335) and other academic quarters (n = 801). The baseline characteristics were not different between the groups. No significant difference in operative complications was found between the first and other academic quarters (1.5% versus 3.0%; P = 0.143). Moreover, there was no significant difference in operative time, operative blood loss, and length of hospital stay between the groups.
Conclusions
This study did not demonstrate the existence of a “freshman effect”, i.e., an increase in morbidity, at a Korean teaching hospital providing gynecologic surgical care. Patients undergoing gynecologic surgery can be reassured of their safety during the first academic quarter.