The Impact of Preclinical Clerkship in General Surgery on Medical Students' Attitude to a Surgical Career

Overview

Journal Surg Today

Specialty General Surgery

Date 2022 Dec 3

PMID 36462056

Authors

Ayako Shimada

Osamu Itano

Takashi Ishida

Takuya Tamura

Takuya Minagawa

Yuki Hirano

Masashi Tsuruta

Takashi Oyama

Sojun Hoshimoto

Masahiro Shinoda

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Purpose: With the advent of a new program for postgraduate medical students in 2004, the number of applicants choosing surgical careers in Japan has been declining. We conducted this study to evaluate the impact of preclinical clerkship and how it affects students' attitudes toward a surgical career.

Methods: The subjects of our study were fifth-year medical students who participated in a clinical clerkship in general surgery in our department between April 2021 and March 2022. We conducted pre- and post-preclinical clerkship surveys to assess the perceived image of surgeons and the impact of clerkship on surgical career interest.

Results: Among 132 medical students (77 men and 55 women) who rotated through preclinical clerkship in our department, 125 participated in the survey and 66% expressed interest in a surgical career. In the post-clerkship survey, an increased interest in a surgical career was expressed by 79% of the students; notably, including those who initially expressed interest. Approximately 77% of students were satisfied with the practical skill training they received.

Conclusion: Engaging medical students early in surgical experience through a preclinical clerkship for general surgery appears to promote their interest in a surgical career.

Citing Articles

Encouraging medical students to become surgeons? Impact of psychological and surgical factors on career choice at medical school.

Brugge S, Gunther V, Cascorbi I, Maass N, Ruchay Z, Fischer M GMS J Med Educ. 2024; 41(2):Doc21.

PMID: 38779696 PMC: 11106567. DOI: 10.3205/zma001676.

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