Teaching Surgeons How to Lead Interactive Workshops: A Needs Assessment

Professional conferences traditionally use lectures and discussions for educating attendees; however, workshops incorporating small group instruction (SGI) provide more interactive learning. Many facilitators lack formal training in interactive pedagogy required for effective SGI. Understanding their preparation and delivery challenges is key to optimizing participant learning.

This study evaluated a national surgical society's first implementation of SGI workshops at their annual conference. Healthcare professionals proposed, designed, and implemented their own curricula for other attendees. Facilitators received a handout outlining SGI best practices. After the conference, an electronic survey assessed facilitators' previous SGI experience, preparation, and challenges encountered. Free responses were categorized and analyzed descriptively.

Of 163 facilitators of 44 workshops, 55 (33.7%) responded. Although >80% were highly familiar with their topic, most (67.3%) had little or no experience leading SGI workshops. Only 45.5% referenced the best practices handout for preparation. Despite this support, 67.3% reported struggling with workshop design and 68.4% with implementation. Notably, 70.2% of facilitators indicated that they would make changes in either the design or implementation of future workshops.

Although most workshop facilitators were content experts, the majority lacked SGI pedagogical skills. Enhanced preworkshop guidance, coupled with opportunities for feedback and coaching, may improve the educational value for facilitators and participants.