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Abstract Aim The RCSE publishes a National Undergraduate Surgical Curriculum on essential surgical knowledge for medical students. However, anecdotally, teaching on such topics varies across medical schools. This study looks to evaluate the impact of an online surgical teaching programme for medical students. Method Surgical societies from five UK medical schools collaborated on creating an eight-part teaching series on the principles of surgery, endorsed by ASiT. Topics include Anaesthetics and Pain Management, Surgical Wounds, Pre-Operative Preparation, Post-Operative Care, Nutrition and Fluids, Common Surgical Emergencies, Human Factors and Patient Safety, and Preparing an Operating List. Teaching is delivered by clinicians via Zoom. Self-perceived knowledge of topics is assessed before and after the programme, and feedback is collected for individual sessions. To date, three sessions have been delivered. Results 163 participants completed the pre-course questionnaire, 87% of which were UK medical students (years 1 – 5). Questions were answered on 5-point scales, with 1 indicating low and 5 indicating high ratings for the relevant outcome. Self-rated knowledge of topics was poor, with more than 69% choosing 1 or 2 for all topics. Feedback for delivered sessions shows high ratings for relevance (more than 73% rated them 4 or 5) and confidence in topics (more than 82% rated them 4 or 5). Statistical analysis will be used to assess outcomes further once teaching is completed. Conclusions Initial results suggest strong interest for teaching on basic surgical principles, and that regular structured online teaching can be effective in increasing student confidence and knowledge attainment.
Keogh et al. (Mon,) studied this question.