E. J. Adams1, M. Guo1, A. Chen1, J. Burke1, S. Santacaterina1, J. A. Posluszny1 1Feinberg School Of Medicine – Northwestern University, Department Of Surgery, Chicago, IL, USA
Introduction: Medical students are typically introduced to surgery during their third-year clinical rotations. Pre-clinical exposure to surgical careers promotes student interest and preparedness for clinical experiences, residency training decisions, and future careers. No formal or structured process for pre-clinical students to explore surgery existed at our institution. We developed the Pathway to Surgery program in August 2021 to longitudinally introduce pre-clinical medical students to surgery. The program’s objectives are to 1) increase shadowing opportunities; 2) teach students about surgical careers via a lecture series; 3) recognize student engagement in exploring surgery.
Methods: Key stakeholders including surgical faculty, the clerkship team, and medical student leaders performed a needs analysis to determine the priorities of pre-clinical students regarding surgical exposure. Shadowing was coordinated through departmental leadership across several specialties, ensuring no conflicts with clinical students. Pre-clinical students completed a shadowing interest survey to determine student preferences. Student responses to a pre- and post-shadowing mixed methods survey were compared using Wilcoxon signed-rank test. The lecture series consisted of monthly hour-long interactive meetings over Zoom. Criteria for completing the Pathway to Surgery program included shadowing at least once and attending 50% or more of the lectures. Students who met these criteria were recognized by departmental leadership.
Results: Thirty-two pre-clinical medical students participated in the shadowing program and 125 attended the lecture series during the 2021-2022 academic year. Students reported interest in shadowing various specialties, most notably trauma (33.3%), orthopedic (32.4%), pediatric (30.6%), transplant (30.6%). Most students found weekday and weekend shadowing times acceptable, with weekend daytime opportunities being most coveted (93.5%). After shadowing, students reported a significantly greater understanding of the OR (p=0.03). Students expressed consistent interest in surgery before and after shadowing (p=0.79). Lectures focused on garnering interest in surgery, guiding students through surgical exploration, and preparing students for clerkship. Specific lecture topics included strategies to find mentors, surgical research, OR etiquette, overview of surgical residency pathways, rewards and challenges at each stage of surgical training, and how to prepare for ERAS throughout medical school. Barriers experienced in implementing the program included COVID-19 preventing in-person workshop experiences and scheduling fluctuations and cancellations.
Conclusion: The Pathway to Surgery program increased pre-clinical student knowledge of surgery in a formal, structured manner. Future initiatives include incorporating hands-on opportunities as COVID-19 restrictions are removed and describing the program’s impact on student career decisions.