Deliberate practice-based surgical curriculum leads to enhanced technical proficiency among dermatology residents

• Published in: Archives of dermatological research Vol. 314; no. 9; pp. 905 - 908
• Main Authors: Criscito, Maressa C., Wilken, Reason, Stevenson, Mary L., Carucci, John A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.11.2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Clinical competence; Curricula; Dermatology; Kruskal-Wallis test; Medical education; Medical residencies; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Short Report; Surgery; Resident education; Medical education; Practice-based learning; Simulation; Surgical training
• ISSN: 1432-069X; 0340-3696; 1432-069X
• DOI: 10.1007/s00403-022-02355-x

Deliberate practice-based medical education has demonstrated superiority in trainee acquisition and maintenance of skills in several surgical subspecialties. In an effort to highlight the impact of a deliberate practice-based surgical curriculum on the technical proficiency of dermatology residents, a prospective cohort study including first- and second-year dermatology residents was performed. A total of 87.5% (7 of 8) first-year dermatology residents completed three hands-on simulations at 6-week intervals. Additionally, six of eight (75.0%) second-year dermatology residents at the same institution were evaluated at a single point-in-time session without accessing the surgical curriculum prior. A 5-point global rating scale (GRS) was used to assess resident performance on six core surgical techniques. Nonparametric ANOVA statistical methods using the Kruskal–Wallis test was performed. The residents’ overall GRS increased from a median of 1–2.75 after completion of the curriculum ( p  < 0.01). There was a significant improvement in the median scores of each tested surgical technique. The first-year residents had a greater overall GRS after completion of the curriculum compared to the second-year residents (median of 2.13 versus 1.88, p  < 0.001). Limitations include the small sample size and lack of a synchronized control group. Our study highlights the use of deliberate practice-based strategies as an effective modality in teaching surgical skills to dermatology residents.