Development, Evaluation, and Delivery of an Innovative National Undergraduate Surgical Workshop: Recognition and Management of the Acutely Unwell Surgical Patient

Problem: Recognition and management of acutely unwell surgical patients is an important skill to which medical students have little exposure. Intervention: We present the evaluation of a novel national surgical workshop that consisted of high-fidelity simulations, lectures, case demonstrations, case discussions, and a basic surgical skills tutorial. The high-fidelity simulations re-created genuine patient encounters and were used to facilitate the acquisition of knowledge and skill in the early recognition and management of acutely unwell surgical patients. Context: The optional workshop was designed for senior medical students and delivered by surgical trainees. Students were asked to complete a 12-item evaluation questionnaire and a 26-item multiple-choice question (MCQ) quiz, which assessed their confidence; self-perceived competence; and knowledge prior to, immediately following, and 8 weeks after the workshop. Pre- and postdata were compared using student's two-tailed t test. Outcome: A total of 66 m...