[Residency program under scrutiny-how do residents prepare for elective operations?]

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Training
• Healthcare Operations

Background:

• Residency programs offer learning opportunities during surgical preparation, intraoperative, and postoperative care.
• Current clinical practice lacks consensus on structured preoperative preparation for residents.
• No prior scientific investigations have addressed this gap in surgical resident preparation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the discrepancy between residents' desired and actual preoperative preparation for operations.
• To identify key elements of surgical preparation and assess their perceived importance and execution.
• To objectify the gap between aspirations and clinical reality in resident surgical preparation.

Main Methods:

• Questionnaires were distributed to trauma and orthopedic surgeons in a Bavarian trauma network (27 clinics, 255 physicians) from February to April 2015.
• Participants rated the importance of preparation elements and residents' success using Likert scales for elective operations.
• Data from 150 analyzed forms (59% response rate) were used to compare aspirations with clinical reality.

Main Results:

• The surgical approach, patient examinations, file review, consultant discussion, and operation technique were deemed most important preparation elements.
• Approximately 50% of participants reported insufficient accomplishment of these critical preparation elements.
• Gender and age differences showed minimal impact on preparation discrepancies.

Conclusions:

• A notable mismatch exists between the ideal and actual personal preparation of residents for surgical operations.
• Implementing hospital-specific concepts and standardized preoperative dialogues can enhance resident preparation.
• Addressing this gap is crucial for improving surgical training and patient outcomes.