How can we enhance undergraduate medical training in the operating room? A survey of student attitudes and opinions

Background and purpose: Teaching in the operating room (OR) may add substantial value to undergraduate medical education but at present, the value of this as a core-learning environment is unclear. We assessed student attitudes to see how the experience may be improved.

Methods: All medical students from University of Leeds, UK were invited to complete an online-based questionnaire. The questionnaire gathered quantitative and qualitative responses relating to previous experiences, acquired benefits, and desired improvements. Students rated their overall satisfaction on a 10-point scale.

Results: A total of 292 students (20.8%) responded to the survey, out of whom 91.4% had previous OR experience. The median overall satisfaction was 7/10; 43.1% described bad or unfavorable experiences. Common themes included feeling intimidated, unwelcome, or ignored by staff, unrealistic expectations of knowledge, and poor or inadequate learning experiences. Benefits of attending the OR were improvements in scrub technique (82.3%), knowledge of anatomy (72.3%), anesthetics (67.5%), and surgical procedures (86.1%). Desired improvements included more opportunity to participate in the procedure (74.4%), encouragement from supervisors (73.6%), improved teaching (71.4%), and better induction to the OR environment (56%).

Discussion and conclusions: Overall satisfaction of OR teaching is reasonable and many benefits are derived from attending the OR. However, bad experiences are common and this is detrimental to the student learning experience. The experience may be of increased value to undergraduate medical education within a dedicated and structured surgical teaching program.