Consultant led peer assisted learning model

Undergraduate medical students frequently report inadequate basic surgical skills such as suturing and knot tying. In recent years, peer assisted learning (PAL) has proven to be an effective method of teaching basic surgical skills. The consistency of the teaching and the quality of the content may be questionable in these workshops. This study aimed to develop a consultant led peer assisted learning model (CL-PAL) to facilitate the quality-controlled delivery of basic suturing skills in undergraduate medical education.

A video on basic suturing techniques was developed with the assistance of an experienced plastic and reconstructive surgeon. Sixty students were recruited and allocated to four workshops across 2 days. Each student was provided with a pre and post workshop form to self-assess their confidence levels with different suturing techniques and theories of suturing. Three PAL facilitators rotated through student stations to address any concerns and to improve the learning experience.

From the post-workshop assessment, students expressed increased confidence in handling surgical instruments, suturing and understanding sharp safety. Following this workshop, 90% of the students reported that they were more likely to attend self-directed learning sessions to maintain their acquired skills. Workshop providers also had an opportunity to develop teaching skills such as communication and the demonstration of suturing skills.

CL-PAL uses technology aided resources created by an experienced surgeon to facilitate the delivery of high quality basic surgical teaching. This model is not only applicable to basic skills training but can also be developed for applications in other specialties. In recent years, peer-assisted learning (PAL) has proven to be an effective method of teaching basic surgical skills.