01
Introduction to Surgery in Preclinical Years: An Impact Study
Brian Carter MS1, Sera Sempson BS1, Kathleen Tuthill2, Kshama Jaiswal MD, FACS2, Tammy Wang MD3
1University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO
2Dept. of Surgery – Surgical Oncology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Center, Aurora, CO
3Dept. Of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Children’s Hospital Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO Background
Exposure to surgery in preclinical years of medical schools is very limited
59% of students make their career decision before their core clinical year of medical school1
Amount of exposure to a specialty in the preclinical years is proportional to application rates in that specialty2
Lack of exposure to positive surgeon role models in the pre-clinical curriculum accounts for 80% of students’ negative opinion of surgery3
There will be an estimated shortage of 14,300 – 23,400 surgical specialists by the year 20324, and nine of ten surgical subspecialties are anticipated to experience shortages by 20255
Purpose: to describe the development and impact of a 12-week elective “Introduction to Surgery” course for preclinical students at the University of Colorado School of Medicine
Methods
Single institution prospective cohort study
Forty pre-clinical medical students attended a total of 10 didactic sessions, a surgical skills lab, and surgery resident panel in the Fall of 2021
Pre- and post-course Likert format surveys distributed to course participants to assess student perceptions and career goals with respect to surgery
Participants also rated course content and lecturers after each course session
References
1. Kozar RA, Lucci A, Miller CC, et al. Brief intervention by surgeons can influence students toward a career in surgery. J Surg Res 2003; 111:166 –9. 2. Bernstein J, Dicaprio MR, Mehta S. The relationship between required medical school instruction in musculoskeletal medicine and application rates to orthopaedic surgery residency programs. J Bone Joint Surg Am 2004;86-A:2335– 8.
3. Meyer AA, Weiner TM. The generation gap: perspectives of a program director. Arch Surg 2002;137:268–70.
4. Association of American Medical Colleges (Prepared for the AAMC by IHS Markit Ltd). The Complexities of Physician Supply and Demand: Projections From 2018 to 2033. aamc.org. 2020. Results
Students gave high ratings to course content (4.78/5) and lecturers (4.81/5) (Fig 1).
Students’ confidence in their basic surgical skills increased significantly (1.54/5 to 2.10/5, P=5.3E-05) (Fig 2).
Students’ perceived readiness for the surgical clerkship increased by 69% (1.30/5 to 2.20/5, P=1.6E-07) (Fig 2).
Students’ reported likelihood of entering a surgical career increased significantly (3.43/5 to 3.78/5, p=0.00031) (Fig 2).
Students’ reported satisfaction with exposure to surgery in the pre-clinical timeframe increased by 75% (2.22/5 to 3.85/5, p=4.2E-19) (Fig 2).
Conclusions
A pre-clinical course in surgery significantly increased student interests in a surgical career, and student readiness for the surgical clerkship
Pre-clinical introduction of surgery is a promising avenue through which to improve student perceptions of surgeons and surgical practice while simultaneously preparing students for further exploration of surgical fields through exposure and introduction to mentors and role models
Next Steps
Additional analyses of reported perceptions/attitudes toward surgeons and the surgical career
Ongoing course iterations/improvements
Longitudinal survey to determine course participant matriculation into surgical vs non-surgical residency program
Limitations
Single institution departmental study
Selection/Sampling Bias
Disclosures
No disclosures to share
COMIRB exempt Figure 2. Influence of ‘Introduction to Surgery’ course on student perceptions Figure 1. Individual course content and lecturer ratings Study Impact
Characterizes the impact of early exposure to surgical mentors and specialties in the form of a pre-clinical elective
Provides insights into medical student perspectives of surgeons and surgical careers
Identifies ways surgical mentors can be made more approachable and accessible to students
Methods and course structure may be reproduced by other institutions<br>
