ABSTRACT
To evaluate whether general medicine training in our general ward has beneficial effects on postgraduate surgical training, questionnaires on general medicine training was sent to 30 doctors who had undergone initial training as residents in our hospital and were involved in surgical practice at the time of the survey. Twenty-two responses were obtained. Fifteen respondents had motivation for general practice at the beginning of their residency, and 20 attained their objectives during the 2-year training. Nineteen respondents appreciated their experiences in managing a variety of diseases encompassing the disciplines of internal medicine and surgery, although 12 complained of a shortage of teaching staff. From the viewpoint of its contribution to their present practice, their training in the general ward was evaluated by all respondents as having been beneficial. We conclude that general medicine training has beneficial effects on postgraduate surgical training that emphasizes comprehensive patient care.
ABSTRACT
To evaluate the learning process in a general medicine training program for skills used in minor outpatient surgery, we introduced a new educational program for knot-tying technique. Eleven 1st year residents were enrolled in the program. The program consisted of initial instruction by senior surgeons through a video system, continuous training with a phantom at weekly surgical conferences, and practical application in the operating room. We objectively evaluated the effectiveness of this program with our unique scoring system for tying which includes speed, form, and securityof the knots. The scores after 4 months, especially the speed score, were significantly, better than those at the beginning of the program (P<0.05), and the scores for form and security tended to be higher than those of 2nd-year residents. We conclude that this unique program for knot tying is effective for teaching proper techniques for tying tight and secure knots and may be used as a part of general medicine training program.
ABSTRACT
Based on 20 years of experience with an unique postgraduate clinical training program, consisting of “g eneral wards ” and “inninr-residents in general medicine” at Tenri Hospital (Nara, Japan), we have identified the following points for the successful evaluation of residents: 1) unlike undergraduate teaching, item-based evaluations do not fit teaching in the clinical setting, 2) evaluation of residents' attitudes should be emphasized, 3) comprehensive evaluation in regular meetings by the teaching staff is practical and useful, 4) mechanisms to reflect patients' opinions should be included in the evaluation process.