• Zahir Mughal, John D Isherwood, Tristan D Boam, Stephen R Knight, and Justin M C Yeung.
• a SCRUBS Undergraduate Surgical Society , University of Leicester , Leicester , UK.
• Teach Learn Med. 2015 Jan 1; 27 (1): 85-90.

ProblemRecognition and management of acutely unwell surgical patients is an important skill to which medical students have little exposure.InterventionWe 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.ContextThe 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.OutcomeA total of 66 medical students from 6 UK universities attended, the majority of whom enjoyed the workshop (98.3%, n = 59). Participants' confidence rating (scale = 1-5) in assessing an unwell surgical patient improved from a mean of 2.5 (n = 47) to 4.4 (n = 60). Confidence in commencing initial management improved from a mean of 2.7 (n = 47) to 4.1 (n = 59). Confidence and self-perceived competence across 12 domains improved significantly following the workshop, two-tailed unpaired t test, t(22) = 8.64, p <.0001, d = 3.68. MCQ scores immediately following the workshop were a statistically significant improvement on the preworkshop MCQ scores (n = 44), paired two-tailed t test, t(43) = 7.76, p <.0001, d = 2.37, and the improvement was sustained 8 weeks following the workshop (n = 18), paired two-tailed t test, t(17) = 3.34, p =.0039, d = 1.62.Lessons LearnedFeedback from students was very positive and clearly demonstrated that a workshop taught by surgical trainees improved medical students' confidence, self-perceived competence, and knowledge in the assessment and management of acutely unwell surgical patients.

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