An early surgical training module for compartment pressure measurement

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Training
• Emergency Medicine

Background:

• Compartment syndrome (CS) is a critical surgical condition requiring timely diagnosis.
• Accurate compartment pressure measurement (CPM) is vital for CS assessment.
• Effective resident education in CS and CPM is essential.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a new simulated teaching module for educating junior surgical residents.
• To assess resident proficiency in compartment syndrome (CS) assessment and compartment pressure measurement (CPM).

Main Methods:

• A 2-hour didactic and practical module on CS and CPM was delivered to 22 junior surgical residents.
• Knowledge was assessed using pretest, post-test, and delayed retention tests.
• Practical skills in CPM were evaluated by board-certified surgeons.

Main Results:

• Significant improvements in test scores were observed from pretest (6.1/10) to post-test (7.9/10) and retention (8.2/10).
• Knowledge retention was maintained from post-test to delayed testing (P = .90).
• High scores were achieved in CPM preparation (8.5/10), performance (9.0/10), and management (8.5/10).

Conclusions:

• A simulated CS and CPM teaching module is efficient for junior surgical resident education.
• The synthetic model provides a valuable tool for CS and CPM training.
• This module demonstrates potential for improving surgical resident competency in a critical area.