Abstract Details

Title Establishing a resident-led lumbar puncture clinic to improve resident satisfaction and skills during neurology residency

Topic Practice, Policy, and Ethics

Presentation(s) P5 - Poster Session 5 (5:30 PM-6:30 PM)

Poster/Presentation
Number 4-069

Objective To determine the comfort level of neurology residents at a busy academic hospital in performing lumbar punctures (LP) and gauging their interest level in establishing a resident-led LP clinic.

Background Lumbar puncture is an essential procedural skill that neurology residents gain during their training. In our new era of fluoroscopy-guided punctures and procedure teams performing LPs, neurology residents are getting less exposure to this procedure and their comfort level is diminishing.

Design/Methods We used SurveyMonkey to administer a survey to PGY 2, 3, and 4 neurology residents at Boston Medical Center (BMC) to assess the number of LPs they have performed during residency, their success rates, comfort levels, and interest in establishing an LP clinic.

Results Of the 13 residents who responded to the survey, 5 were PGY2, 5 were PGY3, and 3 were PGY4. The mean number of LPs done per year of training was 7 for the PGY2 year (N=13), 4 for the PGY3 year (N=7), and 7 for the PGY4 year (N=4). Most residents rated their success rate at 50-74%, felt that the current training program does not offer sufficient opportunities to perform LPs, felt that a dedicated resident-led LP clinic would increase resident confidence and expertise in doing LPs, and would be a better use of hospital resources.

Conclusions Establishing a resident-led LP clinic is perceived by neurology residents as a great way to improve confidence in performing LPs, decrease length of stay for inpatients waiting for an LP, and prevent unnecessary hospital admissions.

Authors/Disclosures
Elie Sader, MD PRESENTER	No disclosure on file
Jason Weller, MD (University of Florida Health)	Dr. Weller has nothing to disclose.

��ɫ��

��ɫ��