Abstract
BackgroundIn recent years the focus on practical skills in the German curriculum of medical school has increased greatly. In this study we evaluate the value of a practical surgery course for medical students as a tool for surgical education, as a way of enhancing interest in surgical fields, and as a method of influencing medical students to subsequently choose a surgical career.MethodsThe “Feel like a surgeon”-course is an optional practical surgery course in which topographical anatomy and realistic surgical training using fresh human cadavers are combined for medical students of the RWTH Aachen University. Between 2010 and 2015 every student completed a survey before starting and after completing our course, and in 2015 a follow-up was performed. Using a standardized questionnaire, course quality, learning success and impact on post-instructional career and choice of profession was evaluated.ResultsIn total, 82 students attended our course between 2010 and 2015 and took part in the evaluation. Evaluation of the course was positive overall, with an average grade of 1.4° ± °0.50. Significant improvement of basic, as well as more complex surgical skills and theoretical knowledge was noted. Furthermore, self-confidence for patient related assignments improved as well. In the follow-up evaluation, a high level of recommendation for surgical residents was seen, as was a high influence of the course on our students’ career choice, although no significant change in career plans before and after taking the course was noted.ConclusionsOur results indicate that a practical surgical course can be a valuable tool to prepare students for a surgical residency and to improve their practical skills generally.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12909-016-0568-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
In recent years, the focus on practical skills in the German curriculum of medical school has increased greatly In order to improve the preparation of medical students for the tasks required of a physician on the floors, routinely needed practical skills are expected to be included in the topics taught to medical students
In this study we evaluate the value of this course as a tool for surgical education and as a way of increasing interest in surgical fields, thereby influencing medical students to choose a surgical career
As the focus of medical education begins to shift away from the classical form of transferring book-knowledge through teacher centered education, towards imparting practical skills necessary to be ready for real-life medical practice, the necessity for medical faculty to implement new teaching methods into the medical school curricula is imperative
Summary
In recent years the focus on practical skills in the German curriculum of medical school has increased greatly. Schoeb et al BMC Medical Education (2016) 16:45 introduced as well, such as a Skill-Center for practicing routine medical skills on dummies In this environment, the Department of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery of the RWTH Aachen university faced the additional challenge of the fading attractiveness of surgical fields for graduating medical students and the consequent lack of candidates for their surgical residencies [3, 4]. The Department of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery of the RWTH Aachen university faced the additional challenge of the fading attractiveness of surgical fields for graduating medical students and the consequent lack of candidates for their surgical residencies [3, 4] In response to this situation, the surgical department decided to restructure their teaching program by adding realistic surgical training to the medical student curriculum [5]. Technical skills are greatly improved, but the repetitive contact with the surgical field is intended to increase the number of well-prepared candidates for surgical residency positions. [5]
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