title: Two for one: surgical skills and CanMEDS roles--a combined course for surgical residents.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The purpose of this study was to develop a surgical skills program for first-year surgical residents by integrating the Canadian Medical Education Direction for Specialists (CanMEDS) roles.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 9-week course combining basic surgical skills and CanMEDS roles was developed and provided to 24 residents from the Departments of Surgery and Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Calgary. Sessions consisted of a pretest/posttest, teaching the surgical skills, supervised practice, posttest, and teaching CanMEDS roles.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The pretest scores indicated the residents' preparation and understanding of the session, which improved as the course progressed. The residents' satisfaction surveys graded on a scale from 1 to 5, syllabus content, syllabus effectiveness, teaching expectations, technical demonstrations, practice sessions, confidence gained, and bench model fidelity indicated a mean of 4.09 (standard deviation = 0.81) satisfaction with the new course. Similarly, preceptors' satisfaction surveys graded on a scale from 1 to 5 demonstrated a mean of 4.16 (standard deviation = 0.69) satisfaction.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Surgical skills and CanMEDS roles of communication, professionalism, collaborator and manager, can be taught simultaneously proving that this new teaching format can be feasible, effective, and logistically convenient, providing a satisfying experience for both residents and preceptors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Electronic address: acponton@ucalgary.ca.
authors.forename: Alicia C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Ponton-Carss
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: Tyrone
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Donnon
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: John B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Kortbeek
mesh_terms: D002170:Canada; D003479:Curriculum; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate / Q000592:standards; D005260:Female; D013502:General Surgery / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D008297:Male; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011231:Preceptorship; D011361:Professional Competence; D012380:Role
keywords: Interpersonal and Communication Skills; Medical Knowledge; Patient Care; Professionalism; collaborator; communication; curriculum; manager; professional; surgical skills