Transitions in surgical education

The Surgical Subinternship: A Unique Opportunity for Early Leadership Development

Subinternships are formative rotations in the surgery-bound medical student's journey to surgical training. This experience allows for further exploration of career goals, plays an important evaluative role in the residency selection process, and offers ongoing opportunities for technical and non-technical development. The graduated responsibility experienced in this setting extends beyond what was experienced during the core surgical clerkship where students are first interfacing with the clinical environment. We review and reflect on the role of subinternships in developing the leadership skills that surgery-bound medical students will need to effectively lead interprofessional healthcare teams in the future.

Junior Mentorship Program (JuMP) Start in Surgery-Implications on Trainee Success

BACKGROUND

Surgical residency, and particularly the early transition years into junior residency or internship, poses great challenges to the trainee, with implications on success, burnout, and attrition. There is increasing recognition of the benefits of mentorship in surgery, however, significant barriers exist in forming these relationships. Peer mentorship also has many additional benefits, though its role in surgical training is limited. The objective of this study was to evaluate the experience following implementation of a formalized peer mentorship program within a large surgical training program.

METHODS

Fourteen post-graduate year 1 (PGY1) general surgery residents were each interviewed and voluntarily matched with a post-graduate year 2 (PGY2) general surgery resident at the University of Toronto for the July 2019 to June 2020 academic year. The recommendation was for an initial meet-and-greet, followed by meetings once every 1 to 2 months. Meetings and discussion topics were encouraged, including emphasis on wellness, study skills, team leadership, and an opportunity to share experiences or concerns. A 1-year post-implementation survey was sent out individually to both groups.

RESULTS

Twenty-eight general surgery residents were surveyed (14 PGY1s, 14 PGY2s). Seventy percent (11/14) of PGY1s responded, while 50% (7/14) PGY2s responded. Three themes emerged from survey: I) peer mentorship provides multiple benefits, II) similar personalities make for a good peer mentorship pair, III) formal scheduled sessions for mentorship should be implemented into the residency curriculum.

CONCLUSIONS

Amongst junior general surgery residents, a formal peer mentorship program provides benefits to both the mentor and mentee. Scheduling difficulties in the absence of structured meetings, and the importance of the mentee-mentor match are key considerations for successful implementation of a mentorship program. Further longitudinal and multicentre studies can be performed to evaluate the long-term impact of these formalized peer mentorship programs on surgical trainee success, including burnout and attrition.