Summertime 2018

A vacation is having nothing to do and all day to do it in.–Robert Orben

Welcome to the summer edition of the Ochsner Journal. Our original research section in this issue is truly multidisciplinary, with submissions from orthopedics, cardiology, internal medicine, and otorhinolaryngology. Every reader will find something interesting in this collection. For example, the article by Caffery et al compares residents' preferences and performance of three techniques for ultrasound-guided central venous cannulation after simulation training. This paper will be of interest to anyone involved in resident and simulation training, as well as staff in internal and emergency medicine who want to decrease the high complication rate associated with this common procedure.

A robust quality improvement section in this issue includes three articles focused on the training continuum. Benson et al outline their work in creating a health disparities education initiative for residents. Trawicki et al provide insight into an initiative designed to improve medical students' perception of the observation and feedback provided by their attendings—an experiment that did not work. Schreyer and colleagues provide a solid framework for aligning resident-led quality improvement projects with hospital goals and priorities.

The summer issue's quarterly radiographic column by Wojcik et al is a bit different from the usual single-patient presentation. “Carotid Webs: Radiologic Appearance and Significance” is an image-rich case series of 5 stroke patients with the distinctive carotid web finding.

Continuing our look at the opioid crisis in the United States, we present an article by Boysen et al detailing “An Evidence-Based Opioid-Free Anesthetic Technique to Manage Perioperative and Periprocedural Pain.”

This edition of the Journal is rounded out by three letters to the editor and four case reports, including the Keller et al submission “Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Type I: A Case Report with Review of Imaging Findings” and the Hann et al paper highlighting a “Novel Chest Wall Reconstruction Following Excision of Xipherosternal Chondrosarcoma.”

When this issue comes to press in mid-June, many of our readers will have already planned—and many of you will have taken—a summer vacation with family and/or friends. Vacation time is important for nurturing our personal well-being, and I wish you all several days of having nothing to do and all day to do it in.

• © Academic Division of Ochsner Clinic Foundation