1122 Improving Medical Students’ Confidence in the Theatre Environment and Surgical Scrubbing Technique Through Pre-Placement ‘Theatre Prep’ Teaching: A Quality Improvement Project

Abstract

Abstract Aim As the GMC states, medical students should be proficient in surgically related procedural skills, including scrubbing up, to ensure patient safety is maintained. Although students and consultants report these skills as top learning objectives for surgical placements, research shows students feel unprepared going into theatres. Evidence suggests that preparatory teaching increases confidence and maximises learning opportunities. This project aimed to improve confidence and preparedness for theatre amongst students at a large UK Medical School through the delivery of ‘theatre prep’ teaching. Method A PDSA structure was utilised through multiple cycles from September to December 2022, using a baseline questionnaire to compare each cycle’s outcomes against a control group. Feedback from students and stakeholders informed lesson plan updates after each cycle. Content focussed on theatre etiquette and practical scrubbing up teaching. Results A Likert scale established self-reported students’ confidence, graded from 1 (very unconfident) to 5 (very confident). Data across all cycles showed that prior to attending theatre, students’ confidence in going into theatres, and scrubbing up, was low (average 2.14 and 1.66 respectively). Control group data showed that students’ reported confidence improved by an average of 1.52 and 1.48 respectively post-placement. Comparatively, following 'theatre prep' teaching, groups reported an increase in confidence of 2.13 and 2.53 for cycle one, and 2.2 and 2.67 for cycle two. Conclusions Medical students report low confidence before going into theatre, particularly regarding scrubbing up. Confidence in both domains was greatly improved by having a ‘theatre prep’ teaching session. We recommend all medical school curricula incorporate similar content.