Medical Students' Communication Preferences for the Ideal Surgical Educator

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Training
• Instructional Communication

Background:

• Medical students possess distinct expectations for clinical surgical educators.
• Understanding these preferences is crucial for optimizing surgical training.
• Previous research identified key teaching behaviors in instructional communication.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine medical students' prioritized teaching behaviors and characteristics for surgical educators.
• To identify which teaching attributes are considered less critical in surgical education.

Main Methods:

• A survey methodology was employed with MSIII and MSIV students (N=82).
• A budget allocation approach (necessity vs. luxury) was used to prioritize 10 teaching behaviors.
• Statistical analyses included repeated-measures ANOVAs and paired t-tests.

Main Results:

• Students significantly invested more in instructor clarity, competence, relevance, responsiveness, and caring under both low and high budget conditions.
• Immediacy and disclosure received slightly higher investment percentages in the luxury budget, indicating a 'luxury' rather than 'necessity' perception.
• These 'luxury' attributes were deemed significantly less important than the core prioritized teaching behaviors.

Conclusions:

• Medical students desire surgical educators who are effective communicators of expertise and relevant content.
• A strong emphasis is placed on the rhetorical aspects of surgical teaching.
• A relational component, characterized by sensitivity to students' academic needs, is also considered ideal.