“Residents as Teachers” Workshop Improves Knowledge, Confidence, and Feedback Skills for General Surgery Residents

Abstract

Surgical residents receive limited formal training in education, yet they are expected to teach medical students and one another. A "Residents as Teachers" curriculum was developed and implemented to improve residents' knowledge of educational strategies, confidence in teaching abilities, and quality of feedback given to learners. A 6-hour workshop was delivered at an academic general surgery residency program. It included 3 interactive sessions: "Teaching on the wards", "How to give and receive feedback", and "Teaching in the operating room (OR)". Pre- and postsession surveys were administered to evaluate participants' knowledge and confidence regarding teaching skills. Standard statistical analyses were used to compare pre- and postcurriculum scores. General surgery residents at Case Western Reserve University/University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center Program attended a 6-hour educational seminar entitled "Residents as Teachers". Three attending surgeons with expertise in surgical education administered the curriculum. Twenty-four residents completed the course and surveys (5 PGY-5s, 6 PGY-4s, 4 PGY-3s, 5 PGY-2s, and 4 PGY-1s). On a 5-point Likert scale, residents' self-rating of teaching skills (pre = 1.8, post = 3.04, p < 0.001) and understanding of adult learning (pre = 1.88, post = 4.42, p < 0.001) improved significantly. The greatest gain was in describing effective strategies for teaching in the OR (pre = 1.75, post = 4.38, p < 0.001). Residents reported improved understanding of effective feedback characteristics (pre = 2.5, post = 4.33, p < 0.001), and felt more prepared to provide feedback to learners (pre = 2.73, post = 3.17, p = 0.01). Scores on 5 of 10 knowledge-based questions significantly improved following the intervention. All participants agreed or strongly agreed that the workshop improved the program's surgical education curriculum (mean score 4.42 of 5). A "Residents as Teachers" workshop improved resident confidence in teaching and feedback skills, particularly for intraoperative instruction, and improved knowledge in the 3 specific educational domains included in the session.