Impact of Non-Clinical Years on Surgery Residents’ Technical Skills: Evaluation of a Technical Skills Refresher Curriculum

Ross E Willis,Kent R Van Sickle,Richard M Peterson

doi:10.4236/ss.2013.42025

Abstract

We ascertained the opinions of residents and faculty regarding technical skills decay during non-clinical training years and evaluated the effectiveness of a technical skills refresher curriculum (TSRC) offered to residents in the month prior to rejoining clinical training years. 32 faculty and 14 residents completed surveys which gleaned opinions regarding technical skills decay during non-clinical years. Six residents completed a TSRC during the month prior to rejoining clinical training. We compared clinical evaluations of the residents who completed the TSRC to residents who rejoined clinical training prior to the implementation of the curriculum. Surveys indicated that residents and faculty believe that non-clinical years have a slightly negative impact on technical skills and residents who completed dedicated research years would require up to 4 months for technical skills to return to the level of their non-research peers. Residents who completed the TSRC reported having significantly higher comfort levels with their technical skills after the curriculum (p

Highlights

At our institution and many others, general surgery residents often elect to complete one or more years of research after the PGY2 clinical training year
We ascertained the opinions of residents and faculty regarding technical skills decay during non-clinical training years and evaluated the effectiveness of a technical skills refresher curriculum (TSRC) offered to residents in the month prior to rejoining clinical training years. 32 faculty and 14 residents completed surveys which gleaned opinions regarding technical skills decay during non-clinical years
Surveys indicated that residents and faculty believe that non-clinical years have a slightly negative impact on technical skills and residents who completed dedicated research years would require up to 4 months for technical skills to return to the level of their non-research peers

Summary

Introduction

At our institution and many others, general surgery residents often elect to complete one or more years of research after the PGY2 clinical training year. The reasons for pursuing research may include enhancing one’s curriculum vita, improving one’s chances of obtaining a competitive fellowship, a desire to pursue a career in academic surgery, or for lifestyle reasons. Faculty and residents believe that technical and clinical skills will suffer during these non-clinical training years, the degree to which technical skills decay has not been systematically studied. We aimed to ascertain the opinions of residents and faculty regarding technical skills decay during non-clinical training years. We evaluated the effectiveness of a technical skills refresher curriculum in terms of self-reported utility and clinical evaluations completed by faculty

Objectives

Methods

Results