Effectiveness of the SEFT teaching model on the clinical practice competence of surgical residents: a retrospective cohort study

Background This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the SEFT teaching model in improving surgical residents’ clinical practice competencies, so as to provide a basis for optimizing training strategies.Methods This single-center, non-randomized retrospective cohort study included 38 residents. The 2019 cohort (n = 19) was the control group, receiving traditional demonstration and practice-based training, while the 2020 cohort (n = 19) was the intervention group, trained via the SEFT teaching model. Scores across five core competencies were compared using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test.Results The intervention group scored significantly higher than the control group across all five assessment domains (all p < 0.05): medical history taking (90.43 ± 3.83 vs. 84.29 ± 10.63, p = 0.039), physical examination (91.20 ± 4.88 vs. 83.76 ± 11.51, p = 0.017), initial medical record documentation (90.61 ± 4.98 vs. 84.20 ± 4.97, p < 0.001), and clinical reasoning and decision-making (87.00 ± 3.64 vs. 80.76 ± 9.24, p = 0.039).Discussion The SEFT teaching model, with its closed-loop structure and targeted feedback, showed promising potential to enhance surgical residents’ clinical practice competencies.