title: A human factors curriculum for surgical clerkship students.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Early introduction of a full-day human factors training experience into the surgical clerkship curriculum will teach effective communication skills and strategies to gain professional satisfaction from a career in surgery.
  
  
  METHODS
  In pilot 1, which took place between July 1, 2007, and December 31, 2008, 50 students received training and 50 did not; all received testing at the end of the rotation for comparison of control vs intervention group performance. In pilot 2, a total of 50 students were trained and received testing before and after rotation to examine individual change over time.
  
  
  METHODS
  University of Massachusetts Medical School.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 148 third-year medical students in required 12-week surgical clerkship rotations.
  
  
  METHODS
  Full-day training with lecture and small-group exercises, cotaught by surgeons and educators, with focus on empathetic communication, time management, and teamwork skills.
  
  
  METHODS
  Empathetic communication skill, teamwork, and patient safety attitudes and self-reported use of time management strategies.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Empathy scores were not higher for trained vs untrained groups in pilot 1 but improved from 2.32 to 3.45 on a 5-point scale (P < .001) in pilot 2. Students also were more likely to ask for the nurse's perspective and to seek agreement on an action plan after team communication training (pilot 1, f = 7.52, P = .007; pilot 2, t = 2.65, P = .01). Results were mixed for work-life balance, with some trained groups scoring significantly lower than untrained groups in pilot 1 and no significant improvement shown in pilot 2.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The significant increase in student-patient communication scores suggests that a brief focused presentation followed by simulation of difficult patient encounters can be successful. A video demonstration can improve interdisciplinary teamwork.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, 01655, USA. Mitchell.cahan@umassmemorial.org
authors.forename: Mitchell A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Cahan
authors.forename: Anne C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Larkin
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Starr
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wellman
authors.forename: Heather-Lyn
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Haley
authors.forename: Kate
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sullivan
authors.forename: Shimul
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hirsh
authors.forename: Demetrius
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Litwin
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Quirk
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002982:Clinical Clerkship / Q000379:methods*; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003142:Communication; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003479:Curriculum; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate / Q000379:methods; D004521:Educational Measurement; D004645:Empathy; D005260:Female; D013502:General Surgery / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D008297:Male; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data