The Case for Teaching Basic Surgical Skills in Medical School

Abstract

The report by Edelman and colleagues [1] addresses an important and timely topic in the field of medical education. The authors describe the impact of fundamentals of laparoscopic surgery (FLS) training of fourth-year medical students on their subsequent performance as first-year surgery residents. The authors conclude that first-year surgery residents who had FLS training as students had better performance than first-year residents who did not have prior FLS training. The authors recommend integrating FLS training into medical school curricula.