Medical Student Preparation for the Operating Room

Background: This study examines student perceptions of preparedness for the operating room (OR), resources used, and time spent in preparation. Methods: Third-year medical and second-year physician assistant students across two campuses at a single academic institution were surveyed to assess perceptions of preparedness, time spent in preparation, resources used, and perceived benefits of preparation. Results: 95 responses (response rate 49%) were received. Students reported being most prepared to discuss operative indications and contraindications (73%), anatomy (86%), and complications (70%), but few felt prepared to discuss operative steps (31%). Students spent a mean of 28 min preparing per case, citing UpToDate and online videos as the most used resources (74%; 73%). On secondary analysis, only the use of an anatomic atlas was weakly correlated with improved preparedness to discuss relevant anatomy (p 1/4 0.005); time spent, number of resources or other specific resources were not associated with increased preparedness. Conclusion: Students felt prepared for the OR, though there is room for improvement and a need for student-oriented preparatory materials. Understanding the deficits in preparation, preference for technology-based resources, and time constraints of current students can be used to inform optimisation for medical student education and resources to prepare for operating room cases. (c) 2023 Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (Scottish charity number SC005317) and Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.