Academic surgeons play an instrumental role in the training of our medical students and surgical residents. Although volunteer faculty often have an important role in the clinical development of surgeons-in-training, the tasks of curricular development, structured didactic sessions, professional advising, research sponsorship, and mentoring at all levels fall to the academic surgeon. Historical...

S imulation is defined as replication of a real-world process or system over time. Surgical Simulations have gained popularity in the recent years. There have been many studies evaluating the role of computer and real-life simulations in surgical training. In several surgical specialties, the use of standardized simulators has become a mandatory portion of the resident's training, such as the f...

BACKGROUND Principles of effective assessment have become increasingly popular topics in graduate medical education. Changes in the structure of plastic surgery training demand a thorough understanding of the state-of-the-art in assessing surgical trainees. Moreover, the authors' understanding of different domains and methods of assessment and the available tools continues to grow. METHODS Th...

BACKGROUND Application rates to surgical residencies have shown a downward trend recently. Introducing students to surgeons early in medical school can increase interest in surgery as a career and enhance the instruction of important surgical topics. Directors of undergraduate medical education have unique insight and influence regarding the participation of surgeons in pre-clinical education. ...

OBJECTIVE Surveys of residency graduates and employers have suggested that residency programs do not prepare residents well for practice. Since 1988, pediatric residents at the University of Massachusetts have been paired one-on-one with an office-based pediatrician for their 3-year continuity experience. This survey was conducted to determine if graduates of such a program are prepared to ente...

BACKGROUND Clinical facilitation is an essential part of the undergraduate nursing curriculum. A number of studies address the issue of clinical facilitation in South Africa, but there remains a lack of knowledge and understanding regarding what students perceive as best practice in clinical facilitation of their learning. OBJECTIVE To determine what type of clinical facilitation undergraduat...

Training surgical residents to become the next generation of surgeons involves very significant challenges not faced by educators of a generation ago. Never before have educators had to face the unique challenges involved in surgical education that are now becoming more clearly defined. This discussion will focus on inguinal hernia repair as an index operation to illustrate the challenge faced ...