Investigating How the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Core Surgical Curriculum Supplements Gaps in Current Residency Training

PURPOSE: Surgical skill workshops and cadaver labs have been shown to be valuable adjuncts to surgical residency education. The Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Core Surgical Curriculum (PRSCSC) was developed and implemented into our plastic surgery residency education curriculum. This study evaluates how the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Core Surgical Curriculum (PRSCSC) impacts residents’ perceptions of their skill levels, supplements gaps in current PRS residency education, and effectively augments residency training. METHOD: The PRSCSC is a repeating two-year surgical skills lab curriculum that consists of one-hour instructional didactics followed by 3 hours of hands-on skill-building of non-invasive aesthetic procedures, microsurgery, and cadaver dissections. Residents are provided pre-session resources and didactics before each session. Plastic surgery residents are grouped in small groups of 2 to 6. Junior residents include PGY 1-4. Senior residents include PGY 5-7. This is a mixed-methods survey study. PRS residents were surveyed before and after five PRSCSC sessions from August 2021 to December 2021 regarding their confidence in performing specific procedures and perceptions of the PRSCSC. RESULTS: 71% of residents completed all anonymous PRSCSC session surveys stratified by PGY level. Before the session, all residents had more confidence in performing reconstructive surgery than non-invasive aesthetic procedures (p<0.001). On average, junior residents felt less confident on all procedures compared to senior residents before each session. Junior residents felt the least confident in microsurgery (p<0.00001), whereas senior residents felt the most confident in microsurgery (p=0.049). All residents increased their confidence by the end of aesthetic and reconstructive sessions (p=<0.01). When responses are analyzed by junior and senior resident levels, all sessions showed significant increases in confidence scores (p<0.01), except for the microsurgery session for senior residents (p=0.6). When asked what the residents enjoyed about each session, they specifically noted the hands-on practice, faculty guidance, and pre-session preparation materials (p=0.04). Most residents (90%) learned a large or extreme amount from each session. All residents believed the PRSCSC sessions are important to their education and should continue. All agreed that the sessions had exceeded their expectations. CONCLUSION: PRSCSC sessions are effective in increasing residents’ confidence in performing surgical tasks and supplementing gaps in residency training by increasing exposure to complex and less common procedures earlier in residency. Given that aesthetic procedures are often less commonly encountered in most PRS residencies, this curriculum allows trainees to improve their non-invasive aesthetic skills in a low stakes, supervised environment. Similarly, junior residents are provided earlier opportunities to practice complex operations. When asked for session feedback, junior residents requested for more junior-resident level tasks, prompting us to consider designing future labs at appropriate skill level that address resident needs by PGY level. The PRSCSC is a valuable adjunct that not only supplements gaps in residency education, but also enhances surgical training in the future.