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“…It is also reasonable to shorten the length of time between sessions. We utilized 2 weeks between sessions in an attempt to optimize long-term retention of material, though many courses in the literature have been shorter [ 41 , 44 , 58 ]. Finally, it may be beneficial to have student-instructors engage in formalized training prior to teaching, with the goal of optimizing NPT efficacy.…”
Background
There is increasing evidence that students are completing medical school with insufficient surgical education. Near-peer tutoring and flipped classroom formatting may be used to enhance learning while simultaneously relieving faculty burden of teaching. Here, we qualitatively evaluate a 3-month course that integrates the use of near-peer teaching and flipped classroom formatting, with the goal of increasing first-year medical students’ self-perceived confidence in performing basic sutures and knot-ties as well as interest in surgery.
Methods
Twenty-one first-year medical students participated in a suturing and knot-tying course led by senior medical students. The course consisted of 2-h sessions held every 2 weeks for a total of five sessions. Students were sent publicly available videos prior to each session by which to learn the upcoming techniques and received live feedback from instructors during sessions. Questionnaires were completed pre-course and post-course.
Results
Compared to pre-course ratings, post-course ratings of self-perceived confidence to perform various knot-ties and sutures all increased significantly (
p
< 0.05). All students stated that the course strengthened their desire to pursue a career in surgery. Student feedback of the course was overall positive.
Conclusions
Near-peer teaching can be used in conjunction with flipped classroom to increase first-year medical students’ self-perceived confidence in surgical suturing and knot-tying as well as interest in surgery. This curriculum may serve as an outline for student-led courses at other institutions.
“…It is also reasonable to shorten the length of time between sessions. We utilized 2 weeks between sessions in an attempt to optimize long-term retention of material, though many courses in the literature have been shorter [ 41 , 44 , 58 ]. Finally, it may be beneficial to have student-instructors engage in formalized training prior to teaching, with the goal of optimizing NPT efficacy.…”
Background
There is increasing evidence that students are completing medical school with insufficient surgical education. Near-peer tutoring and flipped classroom formatting may be used to enhance learning while simultaneously relieving faculty burden of teaching. Here, we qualitatively evaluate a 3-month course that integrates the use of near-peer teaching and flipped classroom formatting, with the goal of increasing first-year medical students’ self-perceived confidence in performing basic sutures and knot-ties as well as interest in surgery.
Methods
Twenty-one first-year medical students participated in a suturing and knot-tying course led by senior medical students. The course consisted of 2-h sessions held every 2 weeks for a total of five sessions. Students were sent publicly available videos prior to each session by which to learn the upcoming techniques and received live feedback from instructors during sessions. Questionnaires were completed pre-course and post-course.
Results
Compared to pre-course ratings, post-course ratings of self-perceived confidence to perform various knot-ties and sutures all increased significantly (
p
< 0.05). All students stated that the course strengthened their desire to pursue a career in surgery. Student feedback of the course was overall positive.
Conclusions
Near-peer teaching can be used in conjunction with flipped classroom to increase first-year medical students’ self-perceived confidence in surgical suturing and knot-tying as well as interest in surgery. This curriculum may serve as an outline for student-led courses at other institutions.
“…Since the Japanese Board of Cardiovascular Surgery mandated 30 h of Off-JT for new cardiovascular specialist applicants for board certification in 2017, we have devised various training methods for suturing prosthetic grafts [ 4 , 8 , and 9 ]. The novice operators initially start training by learning how to handle surgical devices (such as needle holders, forceps, and scissors) and suturing large (14–20 mm diameter) prosthetic grafts on a table.…”
Purpose
Surgical procedures are often evaluated subjectively, and an objective evaluation has been considered difficult to make and rarely reported, especially in open surgery, where the range of motion is wide. This study evaluated the effectiveness of surgical suturing training as an educational tool using the Leap Motion Controller (LMC), which can capture hand movements and reproduce them as data comprising parametric elements.
Methods
We developed an off-the-job training system (Off-JT) in our department, mainly using prosthetic grafts and various anastomotic methodologies with graded difficulty levels. We recruited 50 medical students (novice group) and 6 vascular surgeons (expert group) for the study. We evaluated four parameters for intraoperative skills: suturing time, slope of the roll, smoothness, and rate of excess motion.
Results
All 4 parameters distinguished the skill of the novice group at 1 and 10 h off-JT. After 10 h of off-JT, all 4 parameters of the novices were comparable to those of the expert group.
Conclusion
Our education system using the LMC is relatively inexpensive and easy to set up, with a free application for analyses, serving as an effective and ubiquitous educational tool for young surgeons.
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