Surgical EducationInnovation in internship preparation: an operative anatomy course increases senior medical students' knowledge and confidence
Section snippets
Participants
A total of 23 students participated in the University of Michigan's operative anatomy component of the surgical boot camp in 2009 (n = 12) and in 2010 (n = 11). These students chose to take this course as an elective to prepare them for residencies in general surgery (n = 12), urology (n = 7), neurosurgery (n = 3), and obstetrics and gynecology (n = 1). The 12 participants included 7 female and 16 male students. All students who enrolled in the course were informed that data would be generated
Assessment of student confidence and anxiety
Students' responses on the confidence surveys reveal a significant increase in confidence from baseline before the course compared with after completion of the course for all procedures measured collectively with respect to their knowledge of anatomy, intraoperative complications, and procedural ability (Table 1A–C). There was also a significant decrease in the anxiety reported in association with performance of the procedure after completion of the course (Table 1D). Although there was a
Comments
The transition between medical school and surgical internship can be stressful; students often feel unprepared and are anxious about their performance. To ease this process, some medical schools are offering surgical internship preparatory courses to senior medical students. These courses have been shown to significantly improve students' confidence, performance of basic surgical skills, and procedural knowledge.2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 To augment the University of Michigan Medical School's surgical
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Medical School Surgical Boot Camps: A Systematic Review
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The Evolving Role of Simulation in Teaching Surgery in Undergraduate Medical Education
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The authors declare no conflicts of interest.