Seminars

Creating a systematic process in Supporting Residents

Dr. Naythrah Thevathasan, PGY2

Supervisor: Dr. Joanna Humphreys

There is a growing body of evidence that exists which highlights the psychologic and emotional distress of healthcare workers that occurs when there is an adverse outcome or critical incident/trauma that occurs at work. Adverse outcomes in the healthcare setting can be defined as “Any sudden, unpredictable event that occurs during the course of carrying out day- to-day duties or activities that poses physical or psychological threat to the safety or well-being of an individual or group of individuals” as outlined by Sick Kids Trauma Response and Peer Support policy. At Mac Peds there is currently, no algorithm in place to help support and consolidate resources that exist to help support residents. The overall intention of the project is to use the resources that already exist for residents and formulate a pathway/system to “trigger” initiation of support. 

Learning Objectives:

1. Understanding the current landscape for support for residents when adverse outcomes.
2. Develop an understanding of what an adverse outcome is for a resident.

Interim Data Sharing by Data Safety Monitoring Board: What to share, with whom, and why

Dr. Lehana Thabane, Professor, Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact

Principal investigators and steering committees of randomized clinical trials routinely request data safety monitoring boards (DSMB) to share interim combined event rates. However, this practice can be challenging given the potential misinterpretation of the information, which can lead to biases and other unintended consequences.

Learning Objective:

To review the merits and demerits of sharing interim combined event rate by DSMBs.

TRACER: Transition to Adulthood through Coaching and Empowerment in Rheumatology

Megan Clarke, MSc Student

Supervisor: Dr. Michelle Batthish

TRACER is a coaching program that was developed to assist adolescents transferring from the pediatric to adult rheumatology care setting. We are conducting a feasibility study to determine if the coaching program which involves patients having eight monthly sessions with a transition coach improves patient outcomes over current practices. 

Learning Objectives:

1. Discuss the role of health coaching in transitional care.
2. Review criteria when conducting feasibility studies with adolescents.
3. Discuss strategies to optimize recruitment and retention of adolescent study participants.

Changing trends in septic shock in the ICU – is streptococcal toxic shock to blame? A retrospective cohort chart review 

Dr. Jhanahan Sriranjan, PGY2

Supervisor: Dr. Jeffrey Pernica

Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS) is an acute illness characterized by fever, rash, hypotension, multiorgan involvement, and desquamation. The majority of TSS is attributable to s. aureus, but recent trends suggest an increasing prevalence of invasive Group A Streptococcal (IGAS) infections following the pandemic. This study is a retrospective chart review that utilizes an interrupted time series analysis to determine whether the proportion of sepsis attributable to TSS in the PICU has increased in 2022-2023 compared to pre-pandemic years, and whether the overall prevalence of TSS attributable to IGAS has increased in 2022-2023 compared to pre-pandemic years. 

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify the prevalence of TSS in the McMaster PICU in 2023 compared to previous years.
2. Understand the functions and limitations of an interrupted time-series analysis.  
3. Discuss potential exploratory analyses pertaining to severity of condition.

Systematic Reviews – What are they good for?

Dr. Diana Sherifali, Associate Professor, School of Nursing & joint Faculty in Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact

Learning Objectives:

1. To offer a brief history of the McMaster Evidence Review and Synthesis Team; 
2. To provide an overview of systematic reviews; and 
3. To understand how synthesized research evidence informs clinical practice, research and policy. 

PAUSE (Pediatric resident Awareness and Understanding of Salient patient Encounters): Does a narrative medicine intervention for pediatric trainees lead to improvements in self-compassion and reflective capacity?

Dr. Maddy Bondy, PGY2

Supervisor: Dr. Joanna Humphreys

Dr. Bondy will present a research protocol of a 6-month narrative medicine intervention designed for pediatric residents. She will review the background on narrative medicine, present a literature review and review what this study aims to contribute to the field. She will then provide an overview of the study methods, design of the intervention and outcomes measured. 

Equity in Research Implementation

Dr. Lawrence Mbuagbaw, Associate Professor, Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact

This session will cover the theory and practice of giving meaningful consideration of equity issues in the design, analysis and reporting of health research.

Learning Objectives:

1. To be able to identify frameworks for equity in health research.
2. To be able to distinguish between equity-relevant and non-equity relevant research.
3. To be able to list strategies to enhance equity in our study implementation.

Prevalence of steroid induced hyperglycaemia in pediatric systemic autoimmune rheumatological diseases

Dr. Saja Alrowayeh, PGY2

Supervisors: Dr. Tania Cellucci and Dr. Hannah Geddie

Retrospective chart review study of rheumatological disease database on pediatric patients with SLE, DM, JIA and systemic vasculitis undergoing high dose corticosteroid therapy to assess whether screening for glucose level was measured and assess the prevalence of hyperglycaemia on those who were tested.

Learning Objectives:

The aim of the study is to assess for proper screening and identify the significance of the outcome if present in a measurable method. This will help us determine the need to implement a standardized screening guidelines for such high-risk patients

Chart Review Studies

Myanca Rodrigues, Data Analyst & PhD Candidate, Health Research Methodology Program (Biostatistics)

Chart reviews or medical record reviews are where patient-centered data are used to answer research questions. The utility of chart reviews will be presented, with suggestions for design and implementation, including supplementation with other data sources. We will also discuss the strengths and limitations of this research design.

Learning Objectives:

1. To understand the utility of chart reviews for pediatric research.
2. To learn the strengths and limitations of chart reviews as a research design.
3. To critically consider the ethical implications of chart reviews.

Resident Impact on Medical Students

Dr. Gayatri Sivaratnam, PGY2

Supervisors: Dr. Elif Bilgic & Dr. Han-Oh Chung

Studies detail a generally positive impact of residents on medical students; however, it is unknown how, and to what extent, residents influence medical student experiences. Therefore, the purpose of our study is to investigate the impact of resident presence on medical students’: (a) education, (b) satisfaction, (c) specialty choice and (d) preparedness for residency. Our study describes a method by which we may assess residents as CanMED Scholars, by evaluating their impact on medical student educational experiences. A convergent parallel mixed methods research design will be used. We are currently in the data collection phase. 

Learning Objectives:

1. Learn about mixed methods research designs
2. Learn how to conduct a thematic analysis