Enhancing Surgical Skill Proficiency in Medical Students: Analyzing the Impact of Student-Led Skills Labs
Keywords:
Medical Students, Clinical Competence, Undergraduate Medical EducationAbstract
BACKGROUND: The development of surgical skills is an integral part of undergraduate medical education. Early exposure of medical students to these basic surgical skills can significantly improve interest in pursuing surgical careers during residency. Traditional teaching methods do not efficiently bridge this important gap in the development of the practical abilities of medical students hence warranting the need for more innovative approaches to improve proficiency. There has been an increasing rise in the popularity of student led skills training. This led the Surgical Interest Group, Lagos (SURGIL) to initiate the SURGIL Skills Lab (SSL), a 4-weeks student-led, faculty-supervised basic surgical skills training which was the first of its kind in our region.
AIM: This study evaluates the impact of SSL on medical students' proficiency, confidence, and overall satisfaction with the training received.
METHODS: A cohort study was conducted among medical students from the University of Lagos who participated in the SSL following ethical approval from the Institutional Review Board of Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH). Data was collected from two SSL cohorts that had their trainings in the first and second quarter of 2023. Participants were assessed on their confidence levels in performing six basic surgical skills: forceps handling, two-handed knot tying, one-handed knot tying, instrument tying, simple interrupted suturing, and subcuticular suturing, both before and after the training sessions. Confidence was measured using a 4-point Likert scale. Data on participants' demographic characteristics, previous experience with surgical skills, and satisfaction with the lab were also collected. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS version 26.
RESULTS: A total of 32 students participated in the study and filled the pre-test survey. 2 students dropped out of the research, hence only 30 students participated in the post test survey. The mean age of participants was 24.09 years with a 1.3:1 male to female distribution. Significant improvements were observed in all six surgical skills post-training. Confidence levels in simple running suture increased from a pre-lab mean of 0.69±0.821 to a post-lab mean of 2.93±0.254. Similarly, confidence in two-handed knot tying improved from 0.63±0.98 to 2.87±0.35. Satisfaction with the SSL was overwhelmingly positive, with all participants (100%) expressing satisfaction with the learning environment and recommending the workshop to others. Additionally, 96.7% of students felt the workshop was positively challenging with adequate practice time and increased their interest in pursuing surgery as a career.
CONCLUSION: SSL effectively enhances medical students' surgical skills, significantly improving their confidence in performing basic surgical tasks. The high levels of satisfaction reported by participants suggest that this student-led approach is not only effective but also well-received. Taking into cognizance the positive feedback, integrating student-led surgical skills lab into the medical school curriculum could help address gaps in surgical training especially in centers with reduced lecturer-workforce. This will help in better preparing students for clinical practice while enhancing their engagement and commitment in their education. The results of this study support the expansion of similar programs to other medical schools, potentially resulting to a greater impact on undergraduate surgical education.
Metrics
References
None
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Categories
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Jennifer Okei, Foluso Akinwande, Raphael Eloka, Adebola Damola-Okesiji, Timilehin Okeya, Olufemi Bankole
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- The Author retains copyright in the Work, where the term “Work” shall include all digital objects that may result in subsequent electronic publication or distribution.
- Upon acceptance of the Work, the author shall grant to the Publisher the right of first publication of the Work.
- The Author shall grant to the Publisher and its agents the nonexclusive perpetual right and license to publish, archive, and make accessible the Work in whole or in part in all forms of media now or hereafter known under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License or its equivalent, which, for the avoidance of doubt, allows others to copy, distribute, and transmit the Work under the following conditions:
- Attribution—other users must attribute the Work in the manner specified by the author as indicated on the journal Web site; with the understanding that the above condition can be waived with permission from the Author and that where the Work or any of its elements is in the public domain under applicable law, that status is in no way affected by the license.
- The Author is able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the nonexclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the Work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), as long as there is provided in the document an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post online a prepublication manuscript (but not the Publisher’s final formatted PDF version of the Work) in institutional repositories or on their Websites prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work. Any such posting made before acceptance and publication of the Work shall be updated upon publication to include a reference to the Publisher-assigned DOI (Digital Object Identifier) and a link to the online abstract for the final published Work in the Journal.
- Upon Publisher’s request, the Author agrees to furnish promptly to Publisher, at the Author’s own expense, written evidence of the permissions, licenses, and consents for use of third-party material included within the Work, except as determined by Publisher to be covered by the principles of Fair Use.
- The Author represents and warrants that:
- the Work is the Author’s original work;
- the Author has not transferred, and will not transfer, exclusive rights in the Work to any third party;
- the Work is not pending review or under consideration by another publisher;
- the Work has not previously been published;
- the Work contains no misrepresentation or infringement of the Work or property of other authors or third parties; and
- the Work contains no libel, invasion of privacy, or other unlawful matter.
- The Author agrees to indemnify and hold Publisher harmless from the Author’s breach of the representations and warranties contained in Paragraph 6 above, as well as any claim or proceeding relating to Publisher’s use and publication of any content contained in the Work, including third-party content.
Enforcement of copyright
The IJMS takes the protection of copyright very seriously.
If the IJMS discovers that you have used its copyright materials in contravention of the license above, the IJMS may bring legal proceedings against you seeking reparation and an injunction to stop you using those materials. You could also be ordered to pay legal costs.
If you become aware of any use of the IJMS' copyright materials that contravenes or may contravene the license above, please report this by email to contact@ijms.org
Infringing material
If you become aware of any material on the website that you believe infringes your or any other person's copyright, please report this by email to contact@ijms.org
