Shifting paradigms: the influence of modern undergraduate surgical education on recent graduate perceptions

Abstract Purpose Undergraduate medical education has undergone significant change in recent years to accommodate evolving student needs. These changes have resulted in modifications in the delivery of surgical clerkships. Methods An anonymous survey was distributed via email to all practicing faculty physicians and recent medical school graduates at a large United States academic medical school. The survey collected data regarding each participant’s clerkship structure, valued experiences, and demographic data. Results 391 responses were included, of which 73.4% were faculty and 27.6% were trainees. Similar proportions of faculty and trainees were working in a surgical specialty (26.5% versus 29.5%; p = 0.55). Faculty reported higher median optimal length of the surgical clerkship compared to trainees (6 versus 5 weeks; p < 0.001). Trainees were less likely to take overnight call during their core clerkship (62.6% vs. 86.9%; p < 0.001) and more likely to believe this was an unimportant aspect of the clerkship compared to faculty (67.6% versus 28.5%; p < 0.001). Faculty rated the core clerkship as valuable to their current practice more frequently than trainees (71.9% versus 59.8%; p = 0.022). Both groups frequently reported scrubbing cases as one of the most important experiences during their surgical clerkship (89.0%). Significantly more faculty endorsed overnight call as an important experience compared to trainees (24.7% versus 7.4%; p < 0.001). Conclusion Faculty and recent medical school graduates had differing ideas regarding the value of the surgical core clerkship. Recent graduates desired shorter surgical clerkships in comparison to faculty and viewed overnight call as less critical. Both groups valued scrubbing cases during surgical clerkships.