Effects of attending workshops and using complementary material for home training on the learning of surgical knots by general surgery residents

Abstract

Introduction

In the medical field, specifically in surgical specialties, the knot is crucial for suturing tissues or organs, allowing wounds to heal. This study aims to evaluate the effect of having access to different learning tools for continuous practice on learning basic surgical skills.

Materials and methods

A surgical knots workshop was held, and a prospective randomized controlled trial (RTC) was performed. General surgery residents who assisted in the workshop and accepted to participate in the study were divided into two intervention groups (Groups A and B) groups through the block randomization technique. A control group (Group C) was formed with General surgery residents not assisting the workshop. Group A continued their residency activities, participated in the knot workshop, and received complementary teaching material for home training. Group B continued their residency activities and participated in the knot workshop. Group C simply continued their residency activities. The three groups were evaluated with the OSATS scale and a procedure-specific checklist before and after the knot workshop to assess and compare proficiency.

Results

Paired hypothesis testing showed that all groups significantly increased their skills over the study period. Unpaired hypothesis testing indicated that, although all groups showed improvements, Group A obtained statistically higher scores than Groups B and C on the post-training evaluations.

Conclusion

Access to complementary teaching material, in addition to residency activities and workshops, is an important support for surgeons' training.