Sophia K McKinley1, Naomi M Sell2, Noelle Saillant2, Taylor M Coe2, Trevin Lau3, Cynthia M Cooper4, Alex B Haynes5, Emil Petrusa2, Roy Phitayakorn2. 1. Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. Electronic address: skmckinley@partners.org. 2. Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. 3. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts. 4. Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. 5. Surgery and Perioperative Care, Dell Medical School at the University of Texas Austin, Austin, Texas.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: This study aims to determine the effect of formal, preclinical curricular interventions on medical students' perceptions of surgeons, surgical learning objectives, and concerns regarding the surgical clerkship. METHODS: Thirty-eight medical students underwent a newly required, formal introduction to surgery during the preclinical curriculum. Two months later, these students were given surveys regarding their perception of surgery before and after a bootcamp-style transitions to the wards workshop that immediately preceded their core clinical rotations. Student responses were compared to historical peers. RESULTS: Thirty-seven students participated in the study (97.4%). Relative to historical peers, students demonstrated improved overall perception of surgery (71.2 vs 66.6, p = 0.046). A smaller proportion of students indicated that they were worried about evaluation (18.9% in 2018 vs 55.3% in 2017, p = 0.001) and interactions with surgical educators (18.9% vs 50%, p = 0.005). Students' overall perception of surgery significantly improved after participation in the transition to the wards workshop (71.2 to 77.8, p ≤ 0.0001), as did student agreement with 9 of 21 specific items. Improvement in surgical perception across the bootcamp-style workshop was similar to that of a prior workshop (8.6 in 2018 vs 6.4 in 2017, p = 0.21). CONCLUSIONS: A preclinical introduction to surgery can have a positive impact on medical student perception of surgery prior to entry to the wards and may mitigate student fears regarding their surgical rotation.
BACKGROUND: This study aims to determine the effect of formal, preclinical curricular interventions on medical students' perceptions of surgeons, surgical learning objectives, and concerns regarding the surgical clerkship. METHODS: Thirty-eight medical students underwent a newly required, formal introduction to surgery during the preclinical curriculum. Two months later, these students were given surveys regarding their perception of surgery before and after a bootcamp-style transitions to the wards workshop that immediately preceded their core clinical rotations. Student responses were compared to historical peers. RESULTS: Thirty-seven students participated in the study (97.4%). Relative to historical peers, students demonstrated improved overall perception of surgery (71.2 vs 66.6, p = 0.046). A smaller proportion of students indicated that they were worried about evaluation (18.9% in 2018 vs 55.3% in 2017, p = 0.001) and interactions with surgical educators (18.9% vs 50%, p = 0.005). Students' overall perception of surgery significantly improved after participation in the transition to the wards workshop (71.2 to 77.8, p ≤ 0.0001), as did student agreement with 9 of 21 specific items. Improvement in surgical perception across the bootcamp-style workshop was similar to that of a prior workshop (8.6 in 2018 vs 6.4 in 2017, p = 0.21). CONCLUSIONS: A preclinical introduction to surgery can have a positive impact on medical student perception of surgery prior to entry to the wards and may mitigate student fears regarding their surgical rotation.
Authors: Ogonna N Nnamani Silva; Sophia Hernandez; Alexander S Kim; Andre R Campbell; Edward H Kim; Adnan Alseidi; Elizabeth C Wick; Julie Ann Sosa; Jessica Gosnell; Matthew Y C Lin; Sanziana A Roman Journal: J Surg Educ Date: 2021-01-16 Impact factor: 2.891