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Review
. 2023 May 2;66(3):E264-E268.
doi: 10.1503/cjs.004222. Print 2023 May-Jun.

Learning objectives for thoracic surgery: developing a national standard for undergraduate medical education

Uzair Jogiat  1 , Abdollah Behzadi  1 , Laura Donahoe  1 , Awrad Nasralla  1 , Julius Poon  1 , Najib Safieddine  1 , Nazgol Seyednejad  1 , Iran Tavakoli  1 , Simon R Turner  2
Affiliations
Review

Learning objectives for thoracic surgery: developing a national standard for undergraduate medical education

Uzair Jogiat et al. Can J Surg. .

Abstract
in English, French

Background: The Continuing Professional Development (CPD) (Education) Committee of the Canadian Association of Thoracic Surgeons (CATS) has established a goal of describing the essential knowledge of thoracic surgery. We aimed to develop a national standardized set of undergraduate learning objectives for thoracic surgery.

Methods: We obtained these learning objectives from 4 medical schools in Canada. These 4 institutions were selected to provide a broad geographical representation of medical schools of varying sizes and of both official languages. The resulting list of learning objectives underwent critical review by the CPD (Education) Committee, made up of 5 Canadian community and academic thoracic surgeons, 1 thoracic surgery fellow and 2 general surgery residents. A national survey was developed and circulated to all CATS members (n = 209). Respondents were asked to indicate on a 5-point Likert scale whether each objective should be a priority for all medical students.

Results: Among 209 CATS members, 56 responded (response rate 27%). The mean length of experience in clinical practice among survey respondents was 10.6 (standard deviation 10.0) years. Respondents most commonly reported teaching or supervising medical students monthly (37.0%), followed by daily (29.6%). Eight of the 10 proposed objectives received a mean Likert score of 4/5 or higher and were selected for inclusion in the final list. A finalized list of 8 learning objectives was created, following a final review from the CATS Executive Committee.

Conclusion: We developed a standardized set of learning objectives for medical students that was reflective of the core concepts within thoracic surgery.

Contexte:: Le comité de développement professionnel continu (DPC) (Formation) de l’Association canadienne de chirurgie thoracique (ACCT) a fixé l’objectif de décrire les connaissances essentielles à l’exercice de la chirurgie thoracique. Nous avions pour but d’établir un ensemble d’objectifs d’apprentissage normalisé à l’échelle nationale en chirurgie thoracique destiné aux étudiants de premier cycle.

Méthodes:: Quatre écoles de médecine canadiennes nous ont fourni ces objectifs d’apprentissage. Nous avons sélectionné les 4 établissements afin d’obtenir une large représentation géographique des écoles de médecine, de tailles différentes et ancrées dans les 2 langues officielles. La liste d’objectifs d’apprentissage que nous avons obtenue a fait l’objet d’une évaluation critique du comité de DPC (Formation), composé de 5 chirurgiens thoraciques canadiens provenant des milieux communautaires et universitaires, 1 stagiaire postdoctoral et 2 résidents en chirurgie générale. Nous avons élaboré une enquête nationale et l’avons soumise à l’ensemble des membres de l’ACCT (n = 209). Les personnes répondantes devaient indiquer sur une échelle de Likert en 5 points si chacun des objectifs devait constituer une priorité pour toutes les personnes étudiant en médecine.

Résultats:: Parmi les 209 membres de l’ACCT, 56 ont répondu (taux de réponse de 27 %). L’étendue moyenne de l’expérience en pratique clinique des personnes ayant répondu à l’enquête était de 10,6 ans (écart-type de 10,0 ans). Les personnes répondantes ont plus souvent mentionné enseigner ou superviser des personnes étudiant en médecine sur une base mensuelle (37,0 %), suivi d’une base quotidienne (29,6 %). Huit des 10 objectifs proposés ont obtenu un score de Likert moyen d’au moins 4/5; nous les avons sélectionnés pour les intégrer à la liste finale. Nous avons créé une liste finale composée de 8 objectifs d’apprentissage à la suite d’une dernière révision par le comité de direction de l’ACCT.

Conclusion:: Nous avons élaboré un ensemble normalisé d’objectifs d’apprentissage destiné aux personnes étudiant en médecine qui se veut le reflet des concepts fondamentaux de la chirurgie thoracique.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: Julius Poon received travel support from Intuitive Surgical and participated on an AstraZeneca Advisory Board. Nazgol Seyednejad received honoraria from Bristol Myers Squibb for a lecture given on neoadjuvant treatment in stage IIIA lung cancer. Simon Turner received institutional funding from Ethicon and advisory board consulting fees from AstraZeneca. No other competing interests were declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The mean Likert score for the proposed thoracic surgery learning objectives from a survey of Canadian Association of Thoracic Surgeons members. GERD = gastroesophageal reflux disease.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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