Training tomorrow's doctors in the preoperative clinic

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Training
• Ambulatory Care

Background:

• Reduced hospital stays and increased medical student numbers create challenges for surgical patient exposure.
• Ambulatory settings, specifically preoperative assessment clinics, are increasingly utilized for surgical learning.
• Fourth-year medical students at Keele University engage with patient journeys in preoperative assessment, developing core clinical skills.

Purpose of the Study:

• To audit the educational experiences of medical students in preoperative assessment clinics.
• To evaluate the alignment of these experiences with Tomorrow's Doctors outcomes.
• To determine the effectiveness of ambulatory settings in surgical training.

Main Methods:

• Development of an audit tool based on the patient journey and learning opportunities.
• Mapping identified learning opportunities to Tomorrow's Doctors outcomes.
• Completion of audit proformas by clinical educators for 42 audited sessions.

Main Results:

• Students can achieve all nine identified Tomorrow's Doctors outcomes within the preoperative assessment clinic.
• 92% of students gained practical procedure experience.
• 70% of students demonstrated clinical judgment and decision-making skills.

Conclusions:

• Preoperative assessment clinics provide a viable environment for medical students to achieve multiple educational outcomes.
• These clinics are particularly effective for teaching practical procedures, clinical reasoning, and decision-making.
• Ambulatory surgical education is crucial for adapting to evolving healthcare demands.