Boot Camp in a Box: Initial Experience with Pretraining Skills Preparation for New Interns

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Skills Training

Background:

• Effective skill acquisition is crucial for surgical trainees.
• Early surgical training requires foundational skills like knot tying and suturing.
• Standardized practice and feedback methods can optimize learning curves.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of pre-training practice and video feedback on surgical skills acquisition in PGY-1 trainees.
• To evaluate skill performance at multiple time points during early surgical residency.

Main Methods:

• Ten PGY-1 trainees received kits and video instructions for practicing knot tying and suturing.
• Trainees submitted videos of task performance for blinded review and feedback.
• Skills were reassessed before training (Boot Camp) and 8 weeks into residency.

Main Results:

• High compliance (90%) was observed for practice and video submission.
• A significant performance improvement pattern was noted across all tasks.
• Post-training scores surpassed initial assessments and matched senior residents by 2 months.

Conclusions:

• Pre-training skills practice with video feedback is effective for surgical trainees.
• The high-stress Boot Camp environment may temporarily lower performance.
• Incentivized pre-residency practice can lead to superior skill mastery.