BACKGROUND

Surgical practice is often perceived by students as a stressful and demanding lifestyle in which personal and family issues take low priority. For students to receive a more balanced view of surgical practice, we instituted a private practice preceptorship during the last week of our junior surgery clerkship in 2001. We hypothesized that a 4-day preceptorship with surgeons in private practice would improve student perception of surgery as a valid career choice without compromising student educational performance.

METHODS

From January to December 2002, 107 junior medical students were assigned to a brief preceptorship with volunteer private practice surgeons during the surgery clerkship (group 1), while 28 students did not participate in the preceptorship (group 2). We assessed student satisfaction via questionnaire and compared student grade performance between groups.

RESULTS

One hundred two questionnaires (95%) were returned. Overall, the preceptor experience was rated positively (9.0+/-0.1) based on a 10-point Likert scale. All students commented on the educational or enjoyment value of the preceptorship, with 44% specifically stating that the lifestyle in private surgical practice appeared pleasant. Interestingly, 9% of students volunteered that the experience had swayed them to consider surgery as a career. Twenty-four percent of questionnaires contained negative comments, mainly concerning not enough "hands-on" participation. Grades for the clerkship did not decrease in group 1 when compared with group 2 or with historic controls (n=113).

CONCLUSIONS

A 4-day private practice preceptorship at the end of the junior surgery clerkship favorably alters student perceptions of a surgical career without diminishing student grade performance.