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The development and evaluation of "Training the trainer" curriculum for surgical residents: Feasibility study
Florentia Vlachou1, Yi Zhang, Suhyun Lee
1Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, Charterhouse Square, London, EC1M 6AS, UK Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, Garrod Building, Turner St, Whitechapel, London, E1 2AD, UK Princess Royal University Hospital, Farnborough Common, Orpington, BR6 8ND, United Kingdom St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Blackshaw Rd, London, SW17 0QT, United Kingdom Faculty of Medicine, Imperial Collage London St. Mary's Hospital, Paterson Centre, South Wharf Road, Paddington, London, W2 1BL, UK Department of Upper GI & Laparoscopic Surgery, Royal London Hospital, Whitechapel Rd, Whitechapel, London, E1 1FR, UK Department of Upper GI & Laparoscopic Surgery, University College London, 235 Euston Rd, Bloomsbury, London, NW1 2BU, UK Department of Colorectal Surgery, Yeovil District Hospital Foundation Trust, Yeovil, BA21 4AT, Somerset, UK The Griffin Institute, Northwick Park and St Mark's Hospital, Y Block, Watford Rd, Harrow, HA1 3UJ, UK Division of Surgery and Interventional Science, University College London, UK.
Background:
Over the last decades, there has been greater emphasis on enhancing teaching skills and concepts of Train-The-Trainer (TTT) have been widely adopted across surgical training programs. Current TTT curricula, however, mostly address teaching generic principles without specific guidance on how to teach technical skills among residents. The aim of this proof-of-concept study was to design a bespoke TTT curriculum for surgical technical skills and evaluate its impact.
Material And Methods:
A bespoke TTT curriculum was developed to address key teaching surgical skills including a training framework, and performance enhancing feedback. The curriculum was delivered to 41 junior surgical residents in this feasibility study and focused on promoting a training framework including three domains; "set" involving pre-operative preparation, "dialogue" referring to teaching techniques and "closure" covering structured feedback. It was evaluated using Kirkpatrick's model: (i) course feedback; (ii) training quality assessment on a suturing simulated scenario using (a) Competency Assessment Tool (CAT) and a (b) Structured Training Trainer Assessment Report (STTAR) tool; (iii-iv) follow-up survey after one year.
Results:
The TTT curriculum was well-perceived, with a median score of 4/5 ("agree") across all components of evaluation forms. The simulated training scenario demonstrated a significant reduction in suturing errors following delivery of training (pre-TTT [4.25; IQR:4.42]; post-TTT [2.34; IQR:2.38], p-value = 0.014). Improvement in teaching was also noted and reflected in 'Set' (pre-TTT [3.50; IQR: 3.00] and post-TTT [5.00; IQR: 0.00], p-value = 0.019) and 'Closure' (pre-TTT [4.75; IQR: 1.88] and post-TTT [5.00; IQR: 0.00], p value = 0.007). 25% of participants contributed to the long-term survey highlighting that most practiced skills within 6 months of the curriculum with positive feedback from their learners.
Conclusion:
This proof-of-concept study confirms the feasibility and acceptability of delivering a bespoke Train-The-Trainer curriculum to surgical residents. It provides a structured training framework that can enhance teaching technical skills.
