Operative Exposure of a Surgical Trainee at a Tertiary Hospital in Kenya

Background. Psychomotor domain training requires repetitive exposure in order to develop proficiency in skills. This depends on many training factors in any training institution. Objective. This study sought to look at the operative exposure of surgical trainees in a tertiary hospital in a developing country. Design and Setting. This was a six-month retrospective study performed in one surgical firm at Kenyatta National Hospital. Patients and Methods. The files of all patients admitted to the unit at that time were retrieved. The demographics, diagnosis at admission, need for surgery, and cadre of operating surgeon among others were recorded. Scientific Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 17.0 was used for data entry and analysis. Results. The study cohort was 402 patients of the 757 patients admitted in the study period. The average age was 36.7 years, a female to male ratio of 1 : 2.5. The majority (69.7%) of patients required surgery. Trauma was the most common reason for admission (44.5%). Year 2 residents received the most clinical exposure. Consultant was available in only 34.5% of the cases. Conclusion. The junior residents performed the vast majority of procedures with an unsatisfactory amount of supervision from the senior residents and faculty.