Thoughtful surgical practice for therapeutic self: A randomized control trial.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Skills Training
• Reflective Practice

Background:

• Effective teaching of basic surgical skills is crucial for undergraduate medical students.
• The role of structured reflection in enhancing skill acquisition requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of structured reflection on the development of basic surgical skills among undergraduate students.
• To determine if reflective capacity influences surgical skill acquisition.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial involving 140 undergraduate students across two medical colleges.
• Participants were divided into control and interventional groups, with the latter engaging in structured reflection post-training.
• Surgical skills were assessed via post-tests, with data analyzed using independent t-tests and one-way ANOVA.

Main Results:

• A statistically significant difference in surgical skill acquisition was observed between the control and interventional groups (p-value = 0.01).
• One-way ANOVA indicated a positive correlation between reflective capacity and the acquisition of surgical skills.
• High retention rates (98.5%) were achieved, minimizing attrition bias.

Conclusions:

• Undergraduate medical students who engage in structured reflection demonstrate enhanced acquisition of basic surgical skills.
• Higher reflective capacity is associated with better performance in learning surgical procedures.