A needs assessment study of undergraduate surgical education.

Background. A needs assessment is the process of identifying performance requirements or ‘gaps’ between what is required and what exists at present. To identify these gaps, the inputs of all stakeholders are needed. In medical education, graduating medical students are important stakeholders who can provide valuable feedback on deficiencies in their training. Methods. To know the students’ perceptions about the effectiveness of their surgical training, an anonymous questionnaire seeking their opinion on the duration, content, methods of teaching and assessment was administered. Their responses were analysed using descriptive statistics. Results. The students were largely in favour of active methods of learning and there was very little preference for didactic lectures. For clinical teaching, involvement in ward rounds and patient care activities, in addition to case discussions, was considered to facilitate learning. A clerkship model of clinical training was favoured. Any teaching–learning activity in small groups of 8–10 students was preferred. As regards their evaluation, besides internal assessment, the students felt the need for direct constructive feedback from teachers on how to improve their performance. A large number (73.5%) were opposed to attendance being considered a qualifying criterion for taking the examination. Conclusion. Students’ feedback about their ‘perceived needs’ should be considered when revising training programmes.

Penile epidermal inclusion cyst.

We report a case of epidermal inclusion cyst of penis in a five-year-old boy, who had presented to the outpatient department of our hospital. Epidermal inclusion cysts are benign lesions that can develop in any part of the body. However, the finding of an epidermal inclusion cyst in the penis is rare. The child was operated and discharged uneventfully. The objective of reporting this case is to highlight the rare possibility of an inclusion cyst arising from penis as a late complication of circumcision.