Wouter Leclercq

Challenging the knowledge base and skillset for providing surgical consent by orthopedic and plastic surgeons in the Netherlands: An identified area of improvement in patient safety 63 4 METHODS The study was performed between January 2011 and December 2011 in Máxima Medical Centre, a large teaching hospital in the southern part of the Netherlands. Orthopaedic surgical procedures were performed in all 94 public Dutch hospitals (8 university, 26 large teaching and 60 general hospitals). Plastic surgery is primarily offered in larger hospitals (approximately 50/94). Orthopaedic and plastic surgical care are also provided on a much smaller scale in a limited number of private clinics serving as day care facilities. Details of the survey were published previously. 9 In summary, an existing questionnaire that was used in a survey among general surgeons was modified and optimized by an OS (JvM) and a PS consultant (HW) (Appendix 4.1). All questions were multiple choice. General characteristics, knowledge and daily practice were asked. Endorsed and facilitated by both the Scientific Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons (NOV) and the Dutch Society for Plastic Surgery (NVPC), an e-mail linked to an online multiple-choice questionnaire was sent in February 2011 and October 2011 to all actively practicing OS and PS surgeons and residents in the Netherlands (Table 4.1). A reminder was sent to non-responders one month later, shortly followed by an official study closure towards the end of 2011. Participants were excluded from analysis if they did not recently work in the Netherlands. Table 4.1 Population and response. Total number Response Percent Total 1177 335 28.5 Surgeons 879 265 30.1 Residents 298 70 23.5 OS total 843 253 30.0 Surgeons 624 206 33.0 Residents 219 45 20.5 PS total 334 84 25.1 Surgeons 255 59 23.1 Residents 79 25 31.6 OS Orthopaedic Surgery, PS Plastic Surgery. Ethics, consent and permissions Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Board of Máxima Medical Centre.