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Long-term Impact of a Surgical Innovation and Training Program for High School Students: A 12-Year Follow-Up Study
Mahbod Fattahi1, Carter Tu1, Hannah Romeo1
1Department of Urology, University of California, Irvine, California.
Objective:
The University of California, Irvine (UCI) Summer Surgery Program (SSP) was founded in 2012 to empower high school students to learn surgical skills, experience surgery in the operating theater, and participate in the surgical innovation process. The 2-week program includes endoscopic, laparoscopic, robotic, open surgical skills training, and a group innovation requirement. Our objective was to assess the impact the SSP on subsequent career paths.
Design:
We sent a REDCap-based postactivity survey to all 555 program participants to assess the long-term impact of the program. Associations between demographics and survey responses, and career outcomes between cohorts, were determined using chi-square analysis and false discovery rate (FDR) correction.
Setting:
The summer surgery program is located at UCI Medical Center, Orange, CA.
Participants:
Of the 313 survey respondents, 10 were excluded due to virtual participation between 2020 and 2024. A total of 303 individuals were included in the study.
Results:
Of the 555 participants in the SSP between 2012 and 2024, 303 (54.6%) completed the follow-up survey. Among respondents, 301 (99.3%) reported an increase in their knowledge of healthcare, 93.1% indicated enhanced interest in studying medicine or the sciences in college, 94.1% reported an increased understanding of the importance of innovation, and 83.5% gained a clearer understanding of the innovation process. Overall, 84.2% reported greater confidence in their ability to succeed in a healthcare career, with these students being significantly more likely to report high confidence in becoming a healthcare professional (p = 0.00020). Among the 58 respondents with long-term results (students from 2012-2015), 32 (55.2%) reported being currently enrolled or having completed an MD/DO program and 54 respondents (93.1%) reported pursuing or completing any health-related graduate degree (MD, DO, PhD, RN, etc.) CONCLUSIONS: The 2-week UCI summer surgery program exerted a significant and long-lasting influence on participants' academic trajectories and career aspirations.