Is surgical resident comfort level associated with experience?

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Training
• Practice-Based Learning

Background:

• The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) emphasizes resident self-assessment of training needs.
• Surgery residents can identify learning needs through self-assessment of procedural skills.
• This study explores the link between surgery resident experience, comfort, and perceived training needs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if surgery resident experience is associated with comfort level.
• To investigate the association between resident experience and perceived training needs.
• To evaluate the role of self-assessment in surgical resident education.

Main Methods:

• Twenty-five general surgery residents completed a survey on procedural experience, comfort, and training quality.
• A Cochran-Armitage trend test analyzed trends between comfort/training needs and experience.
• Statistical significance was set at P < 0.05.

Main Results:

• Resident comfort level positively trended with procedural case volume (P < 0.001).
• Higher training levels correlated with increased comfort (P = 0.05).
• Perceived training needs decreased with increased experience (P < 0.001).

Conclusions:

• Residents can effectively assess their comfort and training needs based on experience.
• Procedural surveys are valuable tools for resident self-assessment.
• Self-assessment empowers residents to take an active role in their surgical education.