Acquiring basic surgical skills: Is a faculty mentor really needed?

BACKGROUND: We evaluated the impact of expert instruction during laboratory-based basic surgical skills training on subsequent performance of more complex surgical tasks. METHODS: Forty-five junior residents were randomized to learn basic surgical skills in either a self-directed or faculty-directed fashion. Residents returned to the laboratory 2 days later and were evaluated while performing 2 tasks: skin closure and bowel anastomosis. Outcome measures included Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skill, time to completion, final product quality, and resident perceptions. RESULTS: Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skill, time to completion, and skin esthetic ratings were not better in the faculty-directed group, although isolated improvement in anastomotic leak pressure was seen. Residents perceived faculty-directed training to be superior. CONCLUSIONS: Our data provided minimal objective evidence that faculty-directed training improved transfer of learned skills to more complex tasks. Residents perceived that there was a benefit of faculty mentoring. Curriculum factors related to training of basic skills and subsequent transfer to more complex tasks may explain these contrasting results. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.