Acquisition of Surgical Skills by Final‐Year Medical Students in State‐Owned Medical Schools of Cameroon: Are We Doing Any Good?

Abstract

Introduction World Health Organization recommends that basic surgical care be administered at the district level. In the absence of qualified surgeons, general practitioners are sometimes proposed to bridge the gap. Medical curricula in low-and middle-income countries must be designed accordingly. The aim of this study was to assess the achievements of training of undergraduate medical students in Cameroon towards meeting this objective. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in the four state-owned medical schools in Cameroon. All students who had completed all clinical rotations were assessed with a self-administered questionnaire for their exposure and self-perceived comfort in conducting some selected basic surgical skills and procedures. Results A total of 304 (87.6%) students returned filled questionnaires. Their self-perceived comfort in surgical skills ranged from 25% (manual node tying) to 86% (surgical scrubbing). Adequate exposure to selected surgical procedures was 87% for repair of perineal tear complicating vaginal delivery, above 80% for caesarean section and incision and drainage of abscess, 73% for cast immobilization of extremity fracture and just above 50% for hernia repair and appendectomy. It was as low as 3% for bowel resection and anastomosis. The choice to perform extracurricular activity for skills improvement was significantly associated with adequate exposure (p \ 0.05). Conclusion Overall, the mastery of practical surgical skills and basic surgical interventions by final-year medical students in Cameroon is insufficient. There is need to reinforce the training and assessment by creating the conditions for an appropriate exposure of medical students during surgical rotations.

Opinions on basic surgical skills laboratory for undergraduate medical education: optional or a necessity in Nigeria

“…This has warranted advocacy for inclusion of surgical skills education into undergraduate medical curriculum. [23][24][25][26] The demographics of the respondents, who were more like elders or watchmen at the gates, shows that about a fifth of respondents had their undergraduate medical training outside Nigeria, about half in Port Harcourt, and some others were trained in universities in other part of Nigeria. The respondents therefore to some extent, provided information on basic surgical skills from their experiences from medical training institutions within and outside Nigeria.…”

“…22 with advocacy and inclusion of surgical skills education into undergraduate medical curriculum. [23][24][25][26] Exposure to surgical skills is also known to affect students' interest and choice of surgical specialty subsequently. 27,28 In rural Africa, much of the surgical workforce is carried out by non-specialist physicians whose skills, it has been reported, require special surgical intervention programs for enhancement.…”