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Development and implementation of an interactive, objective, and simulation-based curriculum for general surgery
Orlando C Kirton1, Patricia Reilly, Ilene Staff
1Department of Surgery, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, CT, USA. kirton@uchc.edu
Objective:
A Steering Committee of residents and faculty initiated a systematic approach to curriculum development, focusing on competency-based education and emphasizing both resident and faculty engagement in the didactic process.
Setting:
Integrated General Surgery Residency Program at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, Connecticut.
Participants:
Postgraduate year (PGY) 1 through 5 general surgery categorical and preliminary residents.
Methods:
A Core Curriculum consisting of 45-minute blocks and 2.5 hours of resident time per week was developed by a steering committee composed of faculty and residents. Each block is assigned a faculty and resident moderator, and has defined competency and knowledge-based objectives. An anonymous online evaluation tool collected residents' perceptions of value and satisfaction with the curriculum utilizing 15 5-point Likert items focusing on conferences, objectives, preparation, and quality of presentations, and materials. Measures were taken at the close of the previous academic year (baseline) and at 6 months and 1 year after implementation. The analysis focused on the percent responding in the 2 highest Likert categories (good/excellent, almost always/always, agree/strongly agree). The resulting dichotomous outcomes were compared with time point using χ(2)-tests of proportion; Kruskal-Wallis statistic was also used to compare the full distribution of responses. All analyses were done using SPSS v. 14 with α = 0.05.
Results:
One hundred two surveys were completed on-line (42 at baseline, 38 at 6 months, and 22 at 1 year). All 15 items showed increases from baseline to 1-year follow-up; 9 of the 15 were statistically significant with conferences and presentation quality and interaction showing the greatest improvement.
Conclusions:
Resident satisfaction with the core curriculum, and their self-reported clinical and academic abilities showed improvement after a systematic collaborative faculty-resident approach to curriculum development and implementation.
