Assessment of student experiences in technical procedures in surgical clerkship

To determine the amount of exposure to technical procedures received by students at the New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ, during their first surgical clerkship, a prospective study was carried out over a 3-year period. Students completing each 12-week clerkship filled in a questionnaire to indicate whether they had received exposure to a series of technical procedures. The study showed that students received relatively little experience in some important, though less commonly employed, techniques. It is therefore recommended that: (a) the instruction in technical procedures be carried out on a planned basis; (b) performance of some routine laboratory tests by students be curtailed to permit more time for technical experience in other areas; and (c) the dog laboratory be utilized for the teaching and practice of surgical procedures.