Bridging the Gap: Enhancing First-Year Education Through the Surgical Ethics and Application for Medical Students...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Ethics
• Professional Development

Background:

• Formal ethics training is underrepresented in medical curricula.
• Ethical decision-making is crucial for surgical education.
• A gap exists in preparing medical students for ethical challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate the Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) Surgical Ethics and Application for Medical Students (SEAMS) program.
• To assess the impact of the SEAMS program on medical students' understanding and confidence in surgical ethics.
• To identify preferred learning styles for ethics education.

Main Methods:

• An elective hybrid course (SEAMS) combining didactic lectures and role-playing.
• Participation of 32 first-year medical students.
• Pre- and post-program surveys to assess knowledge, confidence, and learning preferences.

Main Results:

• Student knowledge and confidence in discussing surgical futility significantly improved (p<0.01).
• Confidence in initiating and conducting difficult conversations increased significantly (p<0.01).
• Students showed a greater preference for lecture-based learning on ethics and surgical indications post-program.

Conclusions:

• The SEAMS program effectively prepared medical students for ethical challenges through integrated lectures and role-playing.
• A flipped classroom model is recommended for enhanced efficiency in ethics training.
• Findings underscore the need for structured ethics education in surgical training and may benefit experienced physicians.