Mortality rates, however, did not differ during the beginning versus the end of the academic year.
In academic medical centers, students, residents, and fellows assume higher levels of responsibility on July 1 every year. These authors retrospectively compared complication and mortality rates during a 5-year period between patients admitted in May and June versus those admitted in July and August at a single U.S. level I trauma center. Demographic and clinical-injury data were obtained from the trauma registry and complications data from morbidity and mortality reports. Complications were ascertained by observation and self-reporting by residents and trauma registry nurses and were confirmed by the attending trauma surgeon.
Analyses adjusted for sex, mechanism of injury, Injury Severity Score (≤15 vs. >15), systolic blood pressure (<90 vs…