title: Has the Bachelor of Surgery Left Medical School?-A National Undergraduate Assessment.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Nearly all trainee doctors would undertake a surgical placement in their clinical training; however, there is anecdotal evidence of variability in undergraduate surgical teaching across the UK. We set out to describe the provision of undergraduate surgery and report graduating students' opinions of aspects of this.
  
  
  METHODS
  We undertook a cross-sectional questionnaire of medical students graduating in 2014 from UK medical schools. An online electronic questionnaire was used to capture demographics, career intentions, and individual's undergraduate experience of surgery. A separate questionnaire was sent to medical schools to assess time devoted to surgical placements and how surgical sciences were taught and assessed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  From 483 responses covering 31 UK medical schools, there were 328 completed student questionnaires. A third of respondents felt that teaching of surgical sciences was inadequate. Medical schools reported time allocated to surgical specialties ranging from 4 to 21 weeks (median 13 weeks). Among all, 1 medical school offered a basic surgical skills course and 1 medical school specifically assessed surgical-related skills. Overall, 65% of medical students felt prepared for a surgical foundation placement and 88% felt prepared for a medical foundation placement. In total, 78% felt ready to participate in an acute medicine on-call and 48% felt ready for emergency surgery on-call. There was a positive association between time dedicated to undergraduate surgery and reported preparedness for a foundation surgical job.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  UK medical students reported uniformly low rates of satisfaction with surgical science teaching. Students studying at medical schools with more time in the curriculum dedicated to surgery reported higher levels of preparedness for surgical foundation jobs. There were differences in the rates of perceived preparedness for surgical posts and for emergency surgery. There is a clear need to review undergraduate surgical provision to ensure that students are equipped for safe practice in junior surgical foundation jobs.
authors.affiliation: The Medical School, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom; Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Sheffield, United Kingdom; South Yorkshire Surgical Research Group, South Yorkshire, United Kingdom. Electronic address: lee.mattjames@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Matthew J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: The Medical School, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom; South Yorkshire Surgical Research Group, South Yorkshire, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Thomas M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Drake
authors.affiliation: The Medical School, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom; South Yorkshire Surgical Research Group, South Yorkshire, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Tom A M
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Malik
authors.affiliation: The Medical School, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom; South Yorkshire Surgical Research Group, South Yorkshire, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Timothy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: O'Connor
authors.affiliation: The Medical School, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom; South Yorkshire Surgical Research Group, South Yorkshire, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Ryad
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chebbout
authors.affiliation: The Medical School, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom; South Yorkshire Surgical Research Group, South Yorkshire, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Ahmed
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Daoub
authors.affiliation: The Medical School, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom; Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Sheffield, United Kingdom; South Yorkshire Surgical Research Group, South Yorkshire, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Jonathan R L
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Wild
mesh_terms: D002321:Career Choice; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003710:Demography; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate; D005260:Female; D013502:General Surgery / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013043:Specialties, Surgical; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D006113:United Kingdom
keywords: Medical Knowledge; Patient Care; Professionalism; general surgery; medical education; medical knowledge; medical student; undergraduate