[Undergraduate Medical Students "On Call" to Assist in Theatre: Analysis of the Financial Aspects and a Mixed-Method...

Background/Purpose: Surgical patient care has grown in complexity, as hospital workload has continuously increased. We therefore established a pool of "undergraduate medical students on call" to assist in the theatre outside working hours. We aimed to recruit talented students to reduce the burden on physicians and to motivate students into entering surgery. Methods: An exploratory mixed-method study was performed. In a qualitative study, guided interviews were conducted with five students about their reasons for working in the theatre and the results were used to construct an online questionnaire using EvaSys®. This was presented to 16 current and former students in a subsequent quantitative study. Furthermore, the cost of student employment was calculated and compared with physicians' salaries. Results: In 2013 and 2014, 8-9 students worked a total of 1063 and 1211 hours in the theatre, respectively. The difference in salaries between the students and surgical residents was € 28.37 per hour. We calculated that the annual savings were approximately € 60,000. When questioned on their motives during the interview, only a few students emphasised the financial aspects, whereas the majority emphasised the gain in experience. The analysis was based on comparison of the mean values (online survey) with a 4-point Likert scale (1 = high acceptance; 4 = no acceptance). We defined the motives with a mean ≤ 1.3 as primary. Based on this selection, gathering experience, fun/enjoyment, interest in surgery, and the change from studying were considered as distinct motives. In the interviews, students clearly pointed out that teaching and learning opportunities in the theatre were not commonly taken advantage of and that interaction with the surgeons should be improved. Conclusion: Students actively chose to work as assistants in the theatre, for a variety of motives. The financial aspects were subordinate. The concept of students assisting in the theatre is favourable for both employers and students. However, the results also reveal that there is room for improvement in the implementation of the concept.