A resident preceptor model improves the clerkship experience on general surgery

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Training
• Student-Resident Interaction

Background:

• Inpatient surgical care pace hinders resident teaching and student evaluation.
• Medical students worry about adequate performance assessment by busy surgical residents.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess if a resident preceptor model enhances student satisfaction during general surgery clerkships.
• To evaluate the impact of resident preceptors on the student learning experience.

Main Methods:

• Web-based surveys administered to third-year medical students and general surgery residents before and after implementing a resident preceptor model.
• Comparison of pre- and post-implementation survey data to analyze changes in perceptions.

Main Results:

• Students reported increased comfort asking questions and improved perceived time for relationship development with residents (p=0.02, p=0.03).
• Resident preceptors improved students' confidence in performance evaluation and perceived quality of afternoon resident teaching (p=0.05).
• Residents noted increased time spent teaching students during morning rounds (p=0.03).

Conclusions:

• A resident preceptor model significantly improved medical students' perceptions of resident teaching effectiveness.
• The model enhanced the perceived accuracy of student performance evaluations by residents.