MS4 Catalog

Surgical Education - Virtual

LOCATION: Online 
FACULTY PRECEPTOR: Alan Thomay, MD
DURATION: 2 weeks 
OFFERED: Continuously
MAXIMUM ENROLLMENT: 1 student (WVU Students Only)
STATUS: Elective

OBJECTIVES:

The surgical education of medical students has become more and more difficult owing to a variety of social, economic, and political factors. New methods of instruction will become increasingly vital as a complement to more traditional educational experiences in the operating room, on the inpatient wards, or in the outpatient clinics. This elective will expose medical students to the principles of surgical education via a variety of virtual resources, including readings, videos, and virtual conferences. In addition, it will review the most common issues that can arise during the education of students and residents in surgical principles and techniques, including: lecture creation, virtual presentation of learning material, simulation experiences, and assessment of topic retention. Students will be required to prepare one lecture on a surgical topic to be delivered to third-year medical students; emphasis will be placed on non-PowerPoint based formats, including: small groups, roundtable discussions, role-play, etc. Finally, each student will also be required to complete an independent study project that helps to further the overall educational ambitions of the Department of Surgery. These projects will be tailored and personalized to each student's personal goals and interests. 

Patient Care:

There is no direct patient care that will be delivered during this elective. Rather, this course will be performed in the virtual setting and will focus on principles of teaching surgery to the next generation of students.

Medical Knowledge:

  1. Understand the basic principles of education within a surgical arena.
  2. Identify knowledge and content gaps of both individual students and a comprehensive curriculum.
  3. Demonstrate an ability to translate basic science and clinical knowledge into the practice of educating younger learners.
  4. Recognize the key content areas of any surgical topic that should be emphasized in an individual lecture or simulation session.

Practice-Based Learning:

  1. Locates, appraises, and utilizes scientific evidence within surgery to help emphasize key educational points.
  2. Understand how to incorporate formative feedback into daily educational practice.
  3. Utilizes information technology to manage, organize, and present information to optimize student learning.
  4. Facilitates the learning of students, colleagues, and other health professionals in surgical principles, techniques, and practice.

Communication Skills:

  1. Exhibits the ability to respectfully, effectively, and efficiently develop an education relationship with fellow students.
  2. Views the experience from the student's perspective and learns to identify student expectations.
  3. Works well with Department of Surgery faculty and staff.
  4. Demonstrates respect for diversity and cultural, ethnic, spiritual, emotional, and age-specific differences in students and other members of the team.
  5. Practice effective listening skills and be able to elicit and provide information using verbal, nonverbal, written, and technological skills. Effectively utilizes the feedback provided by others.
  6. Demonstrate effective participation in and leadership of the surgical education team.

Professionalism:

  1. Arrives on time for scheduled meetings and conferences and is prepared for work.
  2. Completes required assignments and projects in a timely manner and within set deadlines.
  3. Treats students, faculty, staff, and other personnel with respect. Demonstrates sensitivity to a student's emotional state, and gender/ethnicity issues.
  4. Coordinates a teamwork strategy. Accepts responsibility and is accountable.
  5. Demonstrates an open and responsive attitude to feedback from other team members.

Systems-Based Practice: 

  1. Understands, accesses, utilizes, and evaluates effectiveness of resource providers, and systems to provide optimal surgical education.
  2. Recognizes different educational models and delivery systems and how to best utilize them to care for the individual patient.
  3. Advocates for and facilitates student advancement through the curriculum.

METHODS TO ACHIEVE OBJECTIVES:

  1. Students will be paired with a surgical faculty mentor that they pre-select prior to initiating the rotation.
  2. This mentor will be charged with ensuring adherence to the above learning objectives.
  3. In addition, the faculty mentor will provide constructive feedback throughout the rotation regarding each student's work on lecture preparation and project completion.
  4. Students will also have a plethora of other resources, including but not limited to: online lectures, reading, operative videos, case-scenarios, and assessment questions.

EXAMINATION PROCEDURES AND EVALUATION CRITERIA

Formative Assessment:

By the end of the first week, the students' progress will be tracked to make sure they have initiated the curriculum materials. Direct feedback and guidance on how to proceed with all aspects of the curriculum will be provided by the surgical faculty mentor.

Summative Assessment:

Each student will receive an evaluation of the above competency objective from their primary faculty mentor. Following completion of a prepared lecture on a surgical topic to third-year medical students, each student will receive lecture evaluations from the students they instructed. This information will be reviewed directly with the student by their faculty mentor. Students will receive direct feedback from the Faculty Preceptor regarding their completed independent study project.

SELECTED READINGS:
Surgical Educators’ Handbook – Developed by The Curriculum Committee and Members of The Association for Surgical Education.

https://www.surgicaleducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/surgicaleducatorhandbook.pdf

 

PRIOR TO THE FIRST DAY OF THE ROTATION:

Contact Dr. Alan Thomay,  at least 2 weeks prior to the start of the elective to discuss objectives and selection of faculty mentor.