350 Adding Education Fellows to Surgical PTWR Improves Medical Student Learning

Abstract Aim To assess if there is any improvement in student evaluation of surgical PTWR when a surgical education fellow is facilitating. Method Medical students from two medical schools on surgical placement in a district general hospital were encouraged to attend one surgical post-take ward round during their allocated Surgical Assessment Unit week. The students ranged from their first to final clinical placement. Students were then asked to complete a questionnaire, detailing their thoughts and feelings about their learning needs, objectives, and overall understanding of the cases they saw on the round. There was also space for free text. The students were later invited to join another surgical PTWR with one or more surgical education fellows present in a non-clinical capacity to facilitate the students’ learning by discussing the clinical scenarios in depth. The students were then given the opportunity to fill out a second identical questionnaire and the results were compared. Results 22 students completed the initial questionnaire, and 23 students completed the post-intervention questionnaire. The results showed that 59.1% students agreed or strongly agreed their learning needs were met and addressed initially, rising to 95.6% on the fellow-facilitated round with 4.3% answering neither agree nor disagree. No students selected disagree/strongly disagree to this question. Conclusions The surgical post take ward round is already a generally useful learning tool for medical students on their surgical placements, but the addition of an education fellow in a non-clinical capacity can improve students’ experience, learning and understanding of common post-take surgical pathologies.