Getting Prepared: Strengthening Clerkship Student Readiness for the Operating Room Through a Case Preparation Activity

OBJECTIVE: For most medical students, the surgical clerkship is their first exposure to the operating room, and many do not know how to prepare for the operations in which they will participate to maximize the educational benefit. We designed and implemented a case preparation curriculum to teach medical students how to prepare for operative cases. DESIGN: Using Kern's approach to curriculum development, a needs assessment of residents and medical students was performed. Five short instructional videos were created to help students find scheduled operations in the electronic health record and instruct them on what to research before scrubbing into a case. All students were required to watch the videos before clerkship orientation. Students were then randomized to participate in a new in-person case preparation activity facilitated by a senior general surgery resident or another procedural activity during the clerkship orientation simulation session. The new activity required students to perform a targeted chart review for an assigned operation using a worksheet as a guide. Electronic surveys were administered after the session (preclerkship) and at the end of the clerkship to assess self-perceived student preparedness. SETTING: Clerkship orientation at a single medical school during 2 rotation blocks in academic year 2025 to 2026. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 73 third-year medical students starting their 3-month surgical clerkship. RESULTS: Thirty-seven students participated in the in-person session and 36 students had access to the videos and worksheet only. Out of the 55 students (75%) who responded to the preclerkship survey, 71% found the videos helpful and students rated the in-person session an 8 out of 10 in helpfulness on average. Thirty-six students (50%) completed the postclerkship survey. All students who completed the in-person session endorsed reading about a patient's history before scrubbing into each operation compared to 67% of students who watched the videos only (p = 0.047). Instructional materials are provided as part of this manuscript. CONCLUSION: The full-case preparation curriculum was well received and is now integrated into the clerkship orientation for all students at our institution. Clerkship directors can use these materials to implement similar activities at their own institutions to improve the educational value students' intraoperative experience.