The Surgical Skills and Technology Elective Program (SSTEP): A comprehensive simulation-based surgical skills initiative for preclerkship medical students

Background: The Surgical Skills and Technology Elective Program (SSTEP) is a voluntary preclerkship surgical bootcamp that uses simulation learning to build procedural knowledge and technical skills before clerkship.

Methods: Eighteen second year students (n = 18) participated in simulation workshops over the course of 7 days to learn clerkship-level procedural skills. A manual was supplied with the program outline. Assessment of the participants involved: 1) a written exam 2) a single videotaped Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skill (OSATS) station 3) an exit survey to document changes in career choices.

Results: Compared to the mean written pre-test score students scored significantly higher on the written post-test (35.83 ± 6.56 vs. 52.11 ± 5.95 out of 73) (p = 0.01). Technical skill on the OSATS station demonstrated improved performance and confidence following the program (10.10 vs. 17.94 out of 25) (p = 0.05). Most participants (72%) re-considered their choices of surgical electives.

Conclusions: A preclerkship surgical skills program not only stimulates interest in surgery but can also improve surgical knowledge and technical skills prior to clerkship.