Fact or infection: do surgical trainees know enough about infection control?

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Infection Control
• Surgical Training

Background:

• Non-compliance with infection control measures is prevalent among healthcare professionals.
• Lack of familiarity with current guidelines may contribute to poor adherence.
• Surgical trainees are critical for implementing infection control practices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the knowledge of infection control guidelines among UK surgical trainees.
• To identify specific areas of knowledge deficit in infection control and MRSA management.

Main Methods:

• A questionnaire was administered to surgical trainees at the UK Association of Surgeons in Training (ASiT) annual meeting.
• The survey assessed knowledge of basic infection control and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) based on recent guidelines.
• Data was collected from 52 trainees (13 higher surgical trainees [HSTs] and 39 basic surgical trainees [BSTs]).

Main Results:

• Basic surgical trainees (BSTs) outperformed higher surgical trainees (HSTs) in 7 out of 11 infection control knowledge questions.
• A significant proportion of trainees were misinformed about MRSA bloodstream infection prevalence (61.5%) and unaware of MRSA patient transfer policies (69%).
• The study identified concerning gaps in the general knowledge of infection control among surgical trainees.

Conclusions:

• Focused and coordinated educational programs are essential to improve infection control knowledge in surgical training.
• Formalizing infection control education within surgical training, selection, and assessment is vital.
• Prioritizing education in this evolving field is necessary to ensure patient safety and reduce hospital-acquired infections.