Surgical subinternships: bridging the chiasm between medical school and residency: a position paper prepared by the Subcommittee for Surgery Subinternship and the Curriculum Committee of the Association for Surgical Education

Abstract

Background: Surgery subinternship rotations are clinical rotations intended to provide senior medical students with experiential exposure and increased autonomy during the care of surgical patients in clinical settings. Due to the lack of guidelines from national surgical organizations, these rotations remain largely unstructured and unstandardized with wide variability in the goals and experiences they provide for medical students.

Methods: Through synthesis of the literature and by applying an iterative process among members of the subcommittee for surgery subinternship and the curriculum committee of the Association for Surgical Education (ASE) consensus recommendations were established.

Recommendations: Five defined domains were identified as essential for establishing surgery subinternship rotations. These are: administrative structure, goals and objectives, curricular elements, instructional methods, and assessment tools.

Conclusions: These recommendations should serve as a blue print for establishing a structured, educationally sound, and rewarding clinical rotation for medical students. Applying these recommendations may also provide educators with opportunities for scholarships and academic advancement.

Keywords: Surgery subinternship; Surgery subinternship rotation; Undergraduate surgical education.