Disparity between resident and faculty surgeons' perceptions of preoperative preparation, intraoperative teaching, and postoperative feedback

Purpose: The education occurring within the operating room is fundamental to the development of a surgical resident. The purpose of this study was to investigate differing perceptions of surgical residents and faculty in regard to preoperative preparation, intraoperative teaching, and postoperative feedback. Methods: A validated survey tool was slightly adapted, piloted, and then administered to the surgical residents and faculty of a university-based general surgery residency program. The wording of the survey was specific to either residents or faculty and consisted of similar questions with responses on a 5-point Likert scale (1: strongly disagree to 5: strongly agree). The responses of the 2 groups for each question were averaged and compared using WilcoxonMannWhitney test to determine significant differences. Results: In all, 27 residents and 30 faculty members completed the survey for a response rate of 100%. With respect to preoperative preparation, significant differences were found in perceptions about reading (4.22 vs 2.59; p < 0.001) and anatomy review (4.11 vs 2.31; p < 0.001) before the procedure. Considering intraoperative perceptions, significant differences were found with respect to teaching the operative steps (3.59 vs 4.06 p = 0.048), surgical skills (2.85 vs 3.78; p = 0.001), instrument handling (3.19 vs 4.00; p = 0.002), and surgical technique (3.44 vs 4.28; p < 0.001). Significant disagreement was found in the perceived effort of the faculty to act as a teacher in the operating room (3.56 vs 4.09; p < 0.007). Postoperatively, significant differences were found in perceptions of positive feedback (2.63 vs 3.34; p = 0.01) and feedback on areas to improve (2.78 vs 3.50; p = 0.009). Conclusions: Although there is agreement on the need to improve intraoperative education, there is significant disparity in perceptions of preoperative preparation as well as intraoperative and postoperative feedback between residents and surgical faculty.