Surgery interns' experience with surgical procedures as medical students

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Training
• Clinical Skills Development

Background:

• Surgical technical skills are introduced in medical school.
• Incoming residents often have varying levels of practical experience.
• Assessing intern preparedness is crucial for patient safety and effective training.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify specific procedural inexperience among first-year surgical residents.
• To evaluate the correlation between medical school experiences and procedural confidence.
• To highlight deficiencies in surgical skills instruction within medical school curricula.

Main Methods:

• Surveyed 40 first-year surgical residents regarding procedures performed in medical school.
• Assessed confidence levels in performing procedures based on prior experience.
• Collected data on participation in clinical procedures and animal surgery laboratories.

Main Results:

• High performance rates for nasogastric tubes, Foley catheters, and central lines (78.4%-97.3%).
• Lower performance rates for arterial lines, pulmonary arterial lines, and chest tubes (21.6%-64.9%).
• Limited involvement in operative procedures (22%) and no correlation between rotation length and experience.

Conclusions:

• Many interns enter residency with insufficient experience in fundamental procedures.
• Medical school surgical technical skills training requires enhancement.
• Intern inexperience necessitates careful consideration when assigning duties during residency.