PS5-04: DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A REAL-WORLD SKILLS CURRICULUM FOR SENIOR RESIDENTS: THE LASR (LIFE AFTER SURGICAL RESIDENCY) PROGRAM
Lauren V Huckaby, MD, Anthony R Cyr, MD, PhD, Jennifer G Steiman, MD; University of Pittsburgh

Objective: Advances in surgical education have focused on surgical skill acquisition and disease management yet proficiency as a practicing surgeon also requires mastery of non-clinical skills. For example, a recent survey revealed that the majority of resident respondents had a high debt-to-asset ratio and felt that personal finance education should be an integral component of surgical training. We hypothesize that formal instruction in these non-clinical skills will decrease extraneous burden in the early years of independent practice thus facilitating clinical success. With this in mind and with the guidance of resident-reported knowledge gaps, we sought to develop a novel curriculum for senior residents focused on non-clinical topics applicable to life after surgical residency.

Methods: All general surgery residents at a university program were surveyed to assess their familiarity and degree of preparedness with a selection of non-clinical topics organized into personal, professional and academic domains. Utilizing these results, a monthly, two hour-long session was incorporated into the pre-existing protected education block for senior residents. Topic presentations were delivered by clinical faculty in addition to local content experts (e.g. finance, business, health systems).

Results: Ninety-four percent of resident respondents felt that non-clinical topics should be an integral component of the general surgery education curriculum. When asked about their preparedness to enter independent practice, only 28% of senior residents reported feeling prepared from a professional standpoint. Residents expressed an interest in formal sessions on: contract negotiation, grant applications, establishing a lab, billing, running a practice and physician wellness. These topics were utilized to construct the sequential, goal-directed LASR program curriculum which is designed to facilitate personalized resident-expert interaction and allow for establishment of ongoing relationships.

Conclusions: Survey data from current surgical residents has identified an unmet need to provide non-clinical skill training to ensure post-residency success. Utilization of a resident-driven curriculum design for this unique educational program allows personalization and adaptability across time and experience level. Future work will focus on retrospectively analyzing non-clinical burdens of recent graduates, in comparison to those completing the LASR program, and optimizing curriculum design to address any deficits in knowledge.