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Updated: Dec 7, 2025
Mechanical Ventilation Boot Camp Curriculum
Published on: March 12, 2018
Acquisition and retention of surgical skills taught during intern surgical boot camp
Al-Faraaz Kassam1, Kathleen E Singer1, Leah K Winer1
1Department of Surgery, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
Background:
Surgical residencies have implemented boot-camps for early acquisition of basic technical skills for interns. However, educators worry that retention is poor. We hypothesized that a structured boot-camp curriculum would improve skills.
Methods:
Interns underwent eight boot-camp sessions at the beginning of residency. Interns completed pre-, post-boot-camp, and end-of-year skills assessments, as well as post-boot camp and end-of-year porcine procedure labs. Proficiency was measured on a 5-point scale and by completion time.
Results:
After boot-camp, interns improved all domains of knot-tying. Median time decreased for skin-closure (8.3 vs 9.9 min, p < 0.01), peg transfer (57 vs 87 s, p < 0.01), intracorporeal (178 vs 300 s, p < 0.01), and extracorporeal knot-tying (140 vs 259 s, p < 0.01). At the end-of-year assessment, interns exhibited retention of all skills and improved in knot-tying and central line skills. During the retention porcine lab, interns progressed basic but not complex skills.
Conclusions:
An eight-week boot-camp effectively improved technical skills among surgery interns. Interns retained all skills and improved upon techniques frequently practiced during intern year.
