Does Realism Matter? A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Models for Medical Student Suture Education

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Skills Training
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Medical students' suturing proficiency is crucial for surgical competence.
• High-fidelity (cadaveric) and low-fidelity (synthetic) models are used for surgical skills training.
• The comparative efficacy of different suturing training models requires investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the suturing proficiency of medical students trained with high-fidelity cadaveric tissue versus low-fidelity synthetic tissue.
• To assess the impact of formal instruction on suturing competence and confidence.
• To determine if training medium significantly influences surgical skill acquisition.

Main Methods:

• Forty-three medical students were randomized into two groups: cadaveric tissue training and synthetic tissue training.
• Suturing proficiency was assessed using the Global Rating Scale and suture accuracy.
• Perceived confidence in suturing was measured on a 0-100 scale pre- and post-instruction.

Main Results:

• Both groups showed significant improvement in perceived confidence and suture accuracy after training.
• No significant differences in post-training confidence or accuracy were found between the cadaveric and synthetic tissue groups.
• Overall suturing performance scores improved significantly with instruction, irrespective of the training model used.

Conclusions:

• The choice of training medium (cadaveric vs. synthetic tissue) does not significantly impact overall suturing performance.
• Formal instruction in basic surgical skills demonstrably enhances both objective competence and subjective confidence in medical students.
• Surgical departments should prioritize providing foundational surgical skills education to all medical students, regardless of the fidelity of training models employed.