Sub-Department of Pediatric Surgery, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital Enugu, Enugu 400001, Enugu, Nigeria.
World J Surg. 2013 Sep;37(9):2094-100. doi: 10.1007/s00268-013-2073-y.
There are concerns regarding a possible decline in the proportion of students choosing surgery as a career in some countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Published works indicate that most students choose their ultimate career during undergraduate training. The present study was undertaken to assess the medical student's perception of the surgery clerkship and determine its influence in the choice of surgery as a career.
The study involved a cross-sectional survey of 2009 and 2010 graduating medical classes of the University of Nigeria based on self-administered questionnaires. The clerkship evaluation was assessed on a 3-point Likert scale (1 = poor; 3 = excellent).
The response rate was 70.3 % (275/391); 179 (65.1 %) of the students were males and 96 (34.9 %), females. Sixty-one (22.2 %) rated the overall quality of their surgery clerkship as excellent (mean rating = 2). Compared with the other three major clerkships, surgery has the lowest rating for overall quality (mean rating: surgery = 2; others = 2.2). Aspects of the clerkship experience that contributed to the overall lower rating of surgery include quality of opportunity to participate in direct patient care; clarity of posting goals and objectives; experience in learning history taking skills, basic physical examination skills, and interpretation of laboratory data; accessibility of faculty; and students' perception that they were treated in a respectful manner. The major suggestions to improve clerkship quality were these: (1) more involvement in direct patient care (n = 154; 56 %), and (2) improvement in student-faculty interaction (n = 9 1; 33.1 %). Overall, 96 (34.9 %) students selected surgery as a specialty, and 39.3 % (108/275) selected the other three major specialties. Surgery was selected by 17/48 (35.4 %), 59/166 (35.5 %), and 20/61 (32.8 %) students who rated the surgery clerkship as "poor," "just right," and "excellent," respectively (p = 0.876). Factors indicated as major influences in the choice of surgical specialty included personal satisfaction 41.7 % (40/96), clerkship experience 36.4 % (35/96), and diligence of faculty 13.5 % (13/96).
Periodic assessment of the satisfaction of medical students regarding their surgical clerkship experience is important. In our setting, we have identified aspects of the surgical clerkship that could be improved to enhance the quality of the experience, ensure the attractiveness of the field to the most qualified candidates, and boost interest in surgery as a career.
在撒哈拉以南非洲的一些国家，人们对选择外科作为职业的学生比例可能下降表示担忧。已发表的研究表明，大多数学生在本科培训期间选择最终的职业。本研究旨在评估医学生对外科实习的看法，并确定其对选择外科职业的影响。
该研究是对尼日利亚大学 2009 年和 2010 年毕业的医学生班级进行的横断面调查，基于自我管理的问卷调查。实习评估采用 3 分李克特量表（1=差；3=优秀）进行评估。
应答率为 70.3%（275/391）；179 名（65.1%）学生为男性，96 名（34.9%）为女性。61 名（22.2%）学生对整体外科实习质量评价为优秀（平均评分=2）。与其他三个主要实习相比，外科的整体质量评分最低（平均评分：外科=2；其他=2.2）。外科实习经验中导致整体评分较低的方面包括参与直接患者护理的机会质量；张贴目标和目的的明确性；学习病史采集技能、基本体检技能和解释实验室数据的经验；教师的可及性；以及学生认为自己受到尊重的程度。提高实习质量的主要建议是：（1）更多地参与直接患者护理（n=154；56%），（2）改善师生互动（n=91；33.1%）。总的来说，96 名（34.9%）学生选择外科作为专业，39.3%（108/275）选择其他三个主要专业。选择外科的学生分别为 17/48（35.4%）、59/166（35.5%）和 20/61（32.8%），他们对外科实习的评价分别为“差”、“刚刚好”和“优秀”（p=0.876）。选择外科专业的主要影响因素包括个人满意度 41.7%（40/96）、实习经验 36.4%（35/96）和教师勤奋度 13.5%（13/96）。
定期评估医学生对其外科实习体验的满意度很重要。在我们的环境中，我们已经确定了可以改进的外科实习方面，以提高体验质量，确保该领域对最合格的候选人具有吸引力，并提高对外科职业的兴趣。
