Development and Delivery of a Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Case-Based Learning Curriculum for Pre-Clerkship...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Training
• Undergraduate Medical Curriculum

Background:

• Canadian medical students have limited exposure to Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (PRS) during pre-clerkship.
• A gap exists in early-stage exposure to PRS concepts within the existing curriculum.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a longitudinal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery case-based learning (PRS-CBL) curriculum.
• To increase early exposure to PRS concepts for pre-clerkship medical students.

Main Methods:

• A 5-part PRS-CBL curriculum was co-designed by PRS faculty and residents, incorporating didactic presentations, case discussions, and hands-on workshops.
• First- and second-year medical students participated in the sessions.
• Presession and postsession tests were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test, and feedback was thematically analyzed.

Main Results:

• Ten PRS-CBL sessions were delivered between 2023-2025, with 201 unique participants.
• Significant improvements in test scores were observed post-session for most modules (p < .05).
• Over 83% of participants agreed learning objectives were met, and qualitative feedback emphasized the value of multimodal teaching and faculty interaction.

Conclusions:

• The PRS-CBL curriculum successfully addressed a gap in undergraduate medical education, enhancing PRS knowledge.
• The program received positive evaluations and engaged students without prior interest in PRS.
• This adaptable model can support early career exploration in underrepresented surgical specialties.