Survey of Student Education in Surgery

Students’ expectations on the surgery clerkship exceed those of residents and faculty

“…The knowledge and skills these students acquire form the basis for their future care of patients with surgical problems, decisions regarding appropriate surgical consultation, and serve as their foundation for office-based procedural skills [3]. However, great variation exists in the structure and administration of surgical clerkships in the United States and even across multiple sites at a given institution [4,5]. Thus, the basic technical skills and knowledge of surgical pathophysiology amongst graduating medical students is varied at the commencement of post-graduate education.…”

General Surgery Versus Specialty Rotations: A New Paradigm in Surgery Clerkships

“…The most widely used system for the 3rd-year surgery clerkship places the general surgery rotation at its core, while providing limited exposure to subspecialty surgical rotations [1]. Not only does this place the primary burden for medical student education on general surgery faculty, but it also limits the participation of subspecialty surgeons in educating 3rd-year medical students via the surgery clerkship.…”

A Novel Critical Skills Curriculum for Surgical Interns Incorporating Simulation Training Improves Readiness for Acute Inpatient Care

“…6 Several recent publications have addressed simulation as a modality for teaching operative skills, though the use of high-performance simulators for management of ward emergencies has not been widely employed. 7-10 Webb et al 11 describe a block curriculum for surgical interns, including simulation for management of surgical patients, though without specific emphasis on team skill simulation in acute postoperative emergencies.…”