title: The Sex Difference in Basic Surgical Skills Learning: A Comparative Study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Very little is known of sex-related differences among medical students in the acquisition of basic surgical skills at an undergraduate level. The aim of this study was to investigate the sex differences in basic surgical skills learning and the possible explanations for sex disparities within basic surgical skills education.
  
  
  METHODS
  A didactic description of 10 surgical skills was performed, including knot tying, basic suture I, basic suture II, sterile technique, preoperative preparation, phlebotomy, debridement, laparotomy, cecectomy, and small bowel resection with hand-sewn anastomosis. The students were rated on a 100-point scale for each basic surgical skill. Later during the same semester all the students took the final theoretical examination.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 342 (male = 317 and female = 25) medical students participated in a single skills laboratory as part of their third-year medical student clerkship. The mean scores for each of the 10 surgical skills were higher in female group. The difference in sterile technique, preoperative preparation, cecectomy, and small bowel resection with hand-sewn anastomosis reached the significant level. Compared with male medical students, the mean theory examination score was significantly higher in female medical students. Approximately 76% of the (19 of 25) female students expressed their interest in pursuing a surgical career, whereas only 65.5% (207 of 317) male students wanted to be surgical professionals (p = 0.381).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Female medical students completed basic surgical skills training more efficiently and passed the theoretical examination with significantly higher scores than male medical students. In the future, studies should be done in other classes in our institution and perhaps other schools to see if these findings are reliable or valid or just a reflection of this 1 sample.
authors.affiliation: Department of Colorectal Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Zheng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Lou
authors.affiliation: Department of Colorectal Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China; Department of General Surgery, Naval 413 Hospital, Zhoushan, China.
authors.forename: Fei-Hu
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Education, The First Affiliated Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China. Electronic address: fei1989hu@163.com.
authors.forename: Zhi-Qing
authors.initials: ZQ
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Education, The First Affiliated Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Education, The First Affiliated Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Xian-Qi
authors.initials: XQ
authors.lastname: Shui
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Education, The First Affiliated Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Jia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Education, The First Affiliated Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Dong-Lan
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Zhuo
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Education, The First Affiliated Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Colorectal Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China. Electronic address: yuenda@163.com.
authors.forename: En-da
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D002321:Career Choice; D002681:China; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003479:Curriculum; D004285:Dogs; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate; D004521:Educational Measurement; D005260:Female; D013502:General Surgery / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation
keywords: Interpersonal and Communication Skills; Practice-Based Learning and Improvement; Systems-Based Practice; basic surgical skill; learning motivation; medical students; sex