Determining the content of a surgical curriculum

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Training
• Curriculum Development

Background:

• Undergraduate surgical education aims to prepare students for residency and practice.
• Identifying essential knowledge and skills is crucial for effective curriculum design.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the functional importance of surgical knowledge and skills for medical students.
• To inform curriculum development by prioritizing essential competencies.

Main Methods:

• A survey was distributed to residents, practicing physicians, and surgical educators.
• Respondents rated the importance of 84 knowledge areas and 46 skills using a 0-3 scale.
• A modified Delphi technique was employed for data collection.

Main Results:

• Significant agreement was found on the importance of core surgical knowledge and skills.
• Highly valued knowledge included acute abdominal problems and breast cancer; skills included history taking and physical examination.
• Less important areas included transplantation and specific procedures like Swan-Ganz catheter insertion.

Conclusions:

• The study successfully ranked surgical knowledge and skills based on perceived functional importance.
• This prioritization aids in developing surgical curricula and educational objectives.
• Findings support the inclusion of functional criteria in medical education.