Residency Prep Course Instills Confidence in Interns

Abstract

Introduction. Physicians entering surgical residency often feel unprepared for tasks expected of them beginning July 1, including responding to pages, writing orders, doing procedures independently, and a multitude of other requirements. Our aim was to design a surgical boot camp to help graduating senior medical students feel more confident entering residency. Methods. A two-week intensive surgery residency prep course was conducted in the spring of 2019 at an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-accredited General Surgery residency program. The course was designed combining aspects from existing prep courses and innovative ideas tailored to resources available at our institution. Medical students participated in the Surgery Residency Prep Course as an elective at the end of their fourth year of medical school. An anonymous survey was given pre- and post-prep course completion evaluating confidence in medical knowledge, clinical skills, and surgical skills. Data were compared using Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test. Results. Six students completed the course as a medical elective. Students felt more confident at course completion in most aspects, were significantly more confident in all areas of surgical skills taught and evaluated, and nearly all areas of medical knowledge. Subjectively, students felt as though the course was beneficial and helped them feel more prepared for starting internship. Conclusions. This course designed at our institution was successful in helping prepare and instill confidence in graduating medical students prior to starting their internship.

Short and Long-Term Success of a Surgery Residency Prep Course

“…Seven of the eleven study participants completed the post-course survey, and their overall confidence level reflected a significant increase over the duration of the course. This result aligns with previous research by Winter et al, 4 demonstrating that participants enhanced their overall confidence, with a median score increasing from 2.4 pre-course to 3.8 post-course. The long-term effects of a prep course were assessed with a six-month follow-up survey which again assessed the participants perceived confidence.…”

“…Our findings demonstrate the value of a residency prep course and its insight regarding the long-term effects of surgical skills training. While prior studies have looked at the immediate effect surgery prep courses offer, 1 , 4 – 8 very few have evaluated outcomes at time points into their residency 6 , 8 and none have followed six-months into residency. Our study provides data on the confidence retained after six months; however, it is significantly limited by its small sample size, singular year of study, lack of a control group, and poor retention of survey participants.…”

“…Multiple studies have demonstrated the feasibility and effectiveness of such preparatory courses. [4][5][6][7][8] However, these studies often lack sufficient follow-up to assess any lasting effects. In the Antonoff study, 8 course graduates were followed two months into their intern year, but were not followed past that time.…”