General surgery residency interviews: are we following best practices?

Background: The interview is one of the most important factors in selecting candidates for general surgery residency. There is significant research on best practices for conducting interviews. Blinded interviews and standardized questions improve interview utility and accuracy; however, their utilization in surgical residency programs is unclear.

What is the future of training in surgery? Needs assessment of national stakeholders.

Background: The Curriculum Committee of the American College of Surgeons-Accredited Educational Institutes conducted a need assessment to (1) identify gaps between ideal and actual practices in areas of surgical care, (2) explore educational solutions for addressing these gaps, and (3) shape a vision to advance the future of training in surgery.

Methods: National stakeholders were recruited from the committee members' professional network and interviewed via telephone. Interview questions targeted areas for improving surgical patient care, optimal educational solutions for training in surgery including simulation roles, and entities that should primarily bear training costs.

Design and implementation of a system-based course in musculoskeletal medicine for medical students.

Background: The amount of time devoted to musculoskeletal medicine in the typical undergraduate curriculum is disproportionately low compared with the frequency of musculoskeletal complaints that occur in a general practice. Consequently, whether because of the quantity or quality of the education, the competence level of graduating physicians regarding musculoskeletal problems is inadequate. Our purposes were to design a self-contained, system-based course in musculoskeletal medicine for medical students in the preclinical years and to measure the level of competence achieved by a class of first-year medical students who took the course.