Not all operative experiences are created equal: a 19-year analysis of a single center's case logs

Background: Although national operative volumes have remained stable, surgical educators should appreciate the changing experience of today's surgical residents. We set out to evaluate operative volume trends at our institution and study the impact of resident learning styles on operative experience.

Materials and methods: The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education operative log data from 1999 to 2017 for a single general surgery residency program were examined. All residents completed the Kolb Learning Style Inventory. Statistical analyses were performed using linear regression analysis, Student's t-test, and Fischer's exact test.

Results: Over the study period, 106 general surgery residents graduated from our program. There were 87% action learners and 13% observation learners. Although there was no change in total major, total chief, or total non-chief cases, a decrease in teaching assistant cases was observed. Subcategory analysis revealed that there was an increase in operative volume on graduation in the following categories: skin, soft tissue, and breast; alimentary tract; abdomen; pancreas; operative trauma; pediatric; basic laparoscopy; complex laparoscopy; and endoscopy with a concurrent decrease in liver, vascular, and endocrine. Learning style analysis found that action learners completed significantly more cases than observation learners in most domains in which operative volume increased.

Conclusions: While the operative volume at our center remained stable over the study period, the experience of general surgery residents has become narrowed toward a less subspecialized, general surgery experience. These shifts may disproportionally impact trainees as observation learners operate less than action learners. Residency programs should therefore incorporate methods such as learning style assessment to identify residents at risk of a suboptimal experience.