Results of a Surgical Simulation Course Designed to Improve Surgery Clerkship Performance

Background and Objectives During the 2015-2016 academic year, Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine (RVUCOM) conducted a required 1-week surgical simulation course as the first week of students’ 8-week surgical clerkship. This course was adapted from a pilot RVUCOM surgical simulation course and other surgical simulation courses identified in the literature. The objectives of this course were to teach surgical skills and clinical knowledge, aid students in adjusting to the stress of a surgical clerkship, and improve students’ confidence and abilities during the clerkship. Methods In all, 148 students participated in the surgical simulation course. Subjective assessment of this course included each student completing a daily standardized stress survey and student feedback surveys at the end of the course and at the end of the surgical clerkship. Objective assessment of this course compared precourse and postcourse tests of surgical knowledge and instrument identification, as well as comparison of NBME Surgery Subject Assessment percentile ranks of this class with 3 prior classes. Results Daily stress surveys indicated decreased stress on day 5 compared to day 1 (p NBME Surgery Subject Assessment percentile rank improved significantly (p Conclusion The RVUCOM surgery simulation course significantly improved student performance academically and helped students acclimate to stress, increase their confidence level, and acquire surgical skills needed during the third-year surgery clerkship.