Implementation of a Near-Peer Surgical Anatomy Teaching Program into the Surgery Clerkship

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to describe the implementation of Clinical Anatomy Mentorship Pro-gram (CAMP), a novel near-peer surgical anatomy teach-ing program, into the KU School of Medicine (KUSOM) Surgery Clerkship curriculum.DESIGN: Prospective qualitative and quantitative study.SETTING: Single institution, tertiary care hospital.PARTICIPANTS: All M3s at KUSOM on their surgery clerkship were eligible for inclusion for the learner cohort, n = 106. A group of M4s self-identified as CAMP mentors were eligible for inclusion for the teacher cohort, n = 40.RESULTS: M3s have statistically significant higher self -efficacy (p < 0.001) scores after participating in CAMP. Among open-ended comments written by M3s, signifi-cant themes highlighted that CAMP taught them a much -needed refresher on anatomy, gave them an introduction to surgical anatomy, and felt peer-to-peer teaching cre-ated a safe environment to ask questions. M4 mentors reported statistically significant (p < 0.001) increases in self-efficacy and confidence in teaching skills after teach-ing CAMP sessions. Among open-ended comments writ-ten by M4 mentors, significant themes highlighted that CAMP helped them develop their teaching skills and confidence in the operating room. CONCLUSIONS: In line with current medical educa-tion practices, KUSOM has significantly decreased anatomy in the curriculum. We responded to this shift by implementing CAMP, designed to address spe-cific medical student needs for a surgically oriented anatomy instruction. CAMP has been effective at addressing student concerns about anatomy knowl-edge gaps. CAMP has enhanced self-efficacy, anatomy knowledge, and operating room exposure in M3s, and self-efficacy, teaching skills, surgical anatomy knowledge, and surgical confidence in M4s. ( J Surg Ed 80:1-6.(c) 2022 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)