A statewide surgical quality improvement collaborative supported by a third-party payer showed significant improvement in quality and high levels of participant satisfaction.

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The use of laparoscopy in general surgery has provided surgeons with a new approach to multiple procedures. New techniques are being developed daily. Laparoscopic training for surgical residents must be incorporated into their curriculum. To decrease the risks of training residents on patients and to decrease operative time, a program of videoscopic "bench" training exercises, to improve eye-hand coordination, was instituted for junior residents. Between July and September 1995, nine surgical residents participated in this proficiency videoscopic study. At the end of the study, there was a statistically significant improvement in the residents performance by an average of 37% (P = 0.0109). This program proved to be both effective and economical. It can be reproduced and easily incorporated into any surgical residency program.

The urinary trypsinogen-2 dip stick test is useful for early diagnosis of post-ERCP pancreatitis and allows the testing physicians to begin management early in its course.