Priorities for professionalism: what do surgeons think?

Area of Science:

• Surgical Education and Training
• Competency-Based Medical Education

Background:

• The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) established a curriculum framework based on nine competencies and 27 attributes.
• Understanding the relative importance of these competencies and attributes is crucial for effective surgical training.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the perceived importance of the nine RACS surgical competencies and their 27 attributes among surgical trainees and Fellows.
• To identify priorities within the RACS curriculum framework for surgical education and training.

Main Methods:

• A questionnaire-based survey was distributed to RACS trainees and Fellows in Australia and New Zealand.
• Participants rated the importance of RACS competencies and their associated attributes between August and September 2010.

Main Results:

• A 60% response rate (1834/3054) was achieved.
• Competence, insight, and recognizing surgical conditions were ranked as most important attributes.
• Attributes such as responding to community needs, supporting others, and personal wellbeing were ranked lower.
• Trainees ranked collaboration and teamwork higher than Fellows; females ranked all attributes as more important than males.

Conclusions:

• Prioritizing competencies is essential in the complex surgical environment.
• Trainees and Fellows largely agreed on attribute prioritization.
• A concerning trend is the lower perceived importance of attributes beyond individual technical expertise.