Department of Surgery, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
Ann Thorac Surg. 2010 Dec;90(6):1967-73; discussion 1973-4. doi: 10.1016/j.athoracsur.2010.06.117.
Applications to cardiothoracic training programs have declined dramatically. Increased effort in recruiting trainees is paramount. In this study, we test our hypothesis that mentored instruction on cardiothoracic simulators will enhance the interest of junior medical students in cardiothoracic surgery.
First- and second-year medical students were recruited from a "surgery interest group" to receive mentored instruction on high-fidelity cardiothoracic simulators. Before and after simulation assessment tools were used to assess attitudes toward simulation, general surgery, and cardiothoracic surgery.
Forty-four medical students participated in the study. Although 80% of the students were interested in pursuing a career in surgery before the course, the majority (64%) indicated they were "neutral" about pursuing a career in cardiothoracic surgery. After participating in the course, 61% of the students agreed or strongly agreed that they were interested in pursuing a career in cardiothoracic surgery (p = 0.001). When asked to select a surgical subspecialty for their third-year clerkship rotation, 18% of the students selected thoracic surgery before participating in the simulator course versus 39% after completing the course. This increase was most evident among the female participants, of whom only 3 (12%) selected a thoracic rotation before the simulator course versus 9 (35%) after completion of the course (p < 0.05).
High-fidelity surgical simulators are an effective way to introduce medical students to cardiothoracic surgery. Participation in moderated simulator sessions improves attitudes toward cardiothoracic surgery as a career choice and correlates with a greater interest in selecting thoracic surgery as a third-year clerkship rotation. The role of surgical simulation as a recruitment tool should be further delineated.
申请心胸培训项目的人数大幅下降。招聘学员的工作至关重要。在这项研究中，我们验证了这样一个假设，即在心胸模拟器上进行指导式教学将提高低年级医学生对心胸外科的兴趣。
从“外科兴趣小组”招募了一、二年级医学生，让他们接受高保真心胸模拟器的指导式教学。在模拟评估工具使用前后，评估学生对模拟、普通外科和心胸外科的态度。
44 名医学生参加了这项研究。尽管 80%的学生在课程开始前对从事外科职业感兴趣，但大多数（64%）学生表示对从事心胸外科职业“中立”。参加课程后，61%的学生表示对从事心胸外科职业感兴趣（p=0.001）。在被要求选择第三年实习轮转的外科专科时，18%的学生在参加模拟器课程前选择了胸外科，而参加课程后选择胸外科的学生比例为 39%。这一增长在女性参与者中最为明显，其中只有 3 名（12%）学生在模拟器课程前选择了胸外科轮转，而参加课程后有 9 名（35%）学生选择了胸外科轮转（p<0.05）。
高保真外科模拟器是向医学生介绍心胸外科的有效方法。参与模拟课程可改善对心胸外科职业的态度，并与选择胸外科作为第三年实习轮转的兴趣增加相关。应进一步阐明外科模拟作为招聘工具的作用。
