Evaluating the Effectiveness of the General Surgery Intern Boot Camp

Abstract

The aim of our study is to evaluate the effectiveness of newly implemented general surgery intern boot camp. A 2-day didactic and skills-based intern boot camp was implemented before the start of clinical duties. Participants who did not attend all boot camp activities and had prior postgraduate training were excluded. A survey utilizing a 5-point Likert scale scoring system was used to assess the participants' confidence to perform intern-level tasks before and after the boot camp. Subgroup analyses were performed comparing changes in confidence among graduates from home institution versus others and general surgery versus other subspecialties. In the analysis, 21 participants over two years were included. Among them, 7 were graduates from home institution (4 general surgery, 3 subspecialty) and 14 were from other institutions (6 general surgery and 8 subspecialty). There were significant increases in overall confidence levels (pre = 2.79 vs post = 3.43, P < 0.001) after the boot camp. Additionally, there were improvements for all subcategories including medical knowledge (2.65 vs 3.36, P < 0.001), technical skill (3.02 vs 3.51, P < 0.001), interpersonal skills and communication (3.04 vs 3.53, P = 0.001), and practice-based learning (2.65 vs 3.41, P = 0.001). There was an improvement in confidence level for both home institution graduates (2.89 vs 3.53, P = 0.022) and other graduates (2.74 vs 3.34, P < 0.001). Similarly, participants from general surgery (2.78 vs 3.46, P = 0.001) and other specialties (2.74 vs 3.34, P < 0.001) reported significant improvement in confidence. General surgery intern boot camp before the start of official rotation is effective in improving confidence level in performing level-appropriate tasks of the incoming new interns.