“Fighting an uphill battle”: A mixed methods exploration of surgeon involvement in medical schools’ preclinical curricula

Abstract

BackgroundLimited exposure to surgeons early on in medical school may adversely impact students’ clerkship experiences and professional development. This explanatory sequential mixed methods study investigates a perceived discrepancy between surgical and nonsurgical instructors in our institution’s preclinical curriculum. MethodsThe demographics of preclinical faculty were assessed before and after a curricular reform. Semi-structured interviews with 13 surgical faculty explored barriers and facilitators to surgeon involvement. Responses were inductively coded and thematically analyzed. ResultsSurgeons’ contributions to preclinical instruction fell from 10% to 5% across the curriculum reform. Barriers both leading to and reinforced by surgeons’ limited involvement relate to surgeon, medical school, and student factors. Participants proposed three solutions to barriers in each domain. ConclusionsSurgeons provide a minority of our preclinical instruction and may be disproportionately impacted by reform efforts. Deliberate efforts are necessary to increase opportunities for surgeons to engage with preclinical medical students.