Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Student Practice in a Surgical Skills Curriculum: A Prospective Study

This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of student practice in a surgical skills curriculum and their evolution during the process and, therefore, evaluate the relevance of training surgical skills in medical graduation.

The study design was prospective observational and analytical, the participants were fourth-year medical students from the Bahiana School of Medical Education and Public Health, and the sample size was 300. The sampling method used was a non-probability sampling method, and data collection was realized through a questionnaire in a QR code with a study overview and a pre-assessment and post-assessment survey link. Data analysis was performed using Microsoft Excel 2021 (Microsoft Corp., Redmond, WA, US). The Shapiro-Wilk test was first conducted to test for normality. Due to the normal distribution of the data, a parametric paired t-test with a 95% confidence interval was used to analyze statistical differences in diagnostic accuracy and knowledge acquisition scores between the pre- and post-assessment and provided the collection of data to assess the impact of a second review moment of surgical skills (SRMSS) for medical students.

Perceived readiness to teach improved across all weeks. Pre- and post-assessment scores showed significant increases (p < 0.05), with mean differences ranging from 0.89 to 1.32, the largest change occurring in Week 1 (1.32). Perceived readiness to apply topics in professional life improved across all weeks, with mean differences ranging from 0.52 to 1.32 (p < 0.05).

The results show that the SRMSS implemented over the six-week period were effective in enhancing participants' perceived learning, readiness for assessments, readiness to teach, and readiness to apply learned topics in practical or professional contexts.