Importance of multimodal resident education curriculum for general surgeons: perspectives of trainers and trainees

Purpose: Satisfaction should be prioritized to maximize the value of education for trainees. This study was conducted with professors, fellows, and surgical residents in the Department of general surgery (GS) to evaluate the importance of various educational modules to surgical residents. Methods: A questionnaire was administered to professors (n = 28), fellows (n = 8), and surgical residents (n = 14), and the responses of the three groups were compared. Four different categories of educational curricula were considered: instructor-led training, clinical education, self-paced learning, and hands-on training. Results: The majority of surgeons regarded attending scrubs as the most important educational module in the training of surgical residents. However, while professors identified assisting operators by participating in surgery as the most important, residents assessed the laparoscopic training module with animal models as the most beneficial. Conclusions: The best educational training course for surgical residents was hands-on training, which would provide them with several opportunities to operate and perform surgical procedures themselves.