Evaluating the utility of an international webinar as a platform to educate students and doctors on the UK core surgical training portfolio
Abstract Background Core Surgical Training (CST) is a competitive two-year postgraduate training program in the UK that is scored based on three equally weighted stations: management, clinical and portfolio. Preparing a surgical portfolio can start in medical school, however, there is limited guidan...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2022-04-01
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| Series: | BMC Medical Education |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-022-03399-3 |
| _version_ | 1828262531825664000 |
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| author | Siddarth Raj Harroop Bola Amar Rai Sarika Grover Anisha Bandyopadhyay Vinci Naruka |
| author_facet | Siddarth Raj Harroop Bola Amar Rai Sarika Grover Anisha Bandyopadhyay Vinci Naruka |
| author_sort | Siddarth Raj |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Core Surgical Training (CST) is a competitive two-year postgraduate training program in the UK that is scored based on three equally weighted stations: management, clinical and portfolio. Preparing a surgical portfolio can start in medical school, however, there is limited guidance on what forms a competitive portfolio with the majority of advice coming from university resources and national societies which are variable throughout the country. Our aim was to assess the utility of a webinar to educate students and doctors on the CST portfolio to address this disparity. Methods Pre- and post-event questionnaires that included demographic data, 10-point Likert scales to self-report confidence on the understanding of the CST portfolio and its domains, and questions on utilising webinars were distributed to attendees. Pre- and post-event responses were paired, and scores were assessed for normality via the Shapiro–Wilk test; the Mann–Whitney U test was used to assess statistical significance. Cohen's d effect sizes were calculated to report standardised differences between pre-and post-event scores. Results A total of 177 participants from over 24 countries responded to both questionnaires. A statistically significant improvement in awareness of how to score maximum points was demonstrated across all nine CST domains (p < 0.0001). Regardless of whether they were UK-based or international, approximately half of the participants stated a preference for a webinar over an in-person format. Interestingly, most attendees did not feel that their university had provided them with adequate information on preparing for a surgical career with over half of the attendees stating that they had to attend events by external organisations to obtain such information. Conclusions This study has demonstrated that a webinar can be effectively utilised to educate students and doctors on the various domains of the CST portfolio and how to maximise points in each section. Such events could address the variability of university resources and national societies across the country and provide equal opportunities for students. Further studies that directly compare webinars with in-person events and investigate long-term outcomes, such as success in CST applications, are required. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T03:56:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6f63b42d940e4bf8b91da11a1d5e278d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1472-6920 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T03:56:48Z |
| publishDate | 2022-04-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Medical Education |
| spelling | doaj.art-6f63b42d940e4bf8b91da11a1d5e278d2022-12-22T03:03:36ZengBMCBMC Medical Education1472-69202022-04-012211710.1186/s12909-022-03399-3Evaluating the utility of an international webinar as a platform to educate students and doctors on the UK core surgical training portfolioSiddarth Raj0Harroop Bola1Amar Rai2Sarika Grover3Anisha Bandyopadhyay4Vinci Naruka5King’s College London Guy’s, King’sImperial College School of MedicineImperial College School of MedicineKing’s College London Guy’s, King’sKing’s College London Guy’s, King’sDepartment of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Imperial College Healthcare NHS TrustAbstract Background Core Surgical Training (CST) is a competitive two-year postgraduate training program in the UK that is scored based on three equally weighted stations: management, clinical and portfolio. Preparing a surgical portfolio can start in medical school, however, there is limited guidance on what forms a competitive portfolio with the majority of advice coming from university resources and national societies which are variable throughout the country. Our aim was to assess the utility of a webinar to educate students and doctors on the CST portfolio to address this disparity. Methods Pre- and post-event questionnaires that included demographic data, 10-point Likert scales to self-report confidence on the understanding of the CST portfolio and its domains, and questions on utilising webinars were distributed to attendees. Pre- and post-event responses were paired, and scores were assessed for normality via the Shapiro–Wilk test; the Mann–Whitney U test was used to assess statistical significance. Cohen's d effect sizes were calculated to report standardised differences between pre-and post-event scores. Results A total of 177 participants from over 24 countries responded to both questionnaires. A statistically significant improvement in awareness of how to score maximum points was demonstrated across all nine CST domains (p < 0.0001). Regardless of whether they were UK-based or international, approximately half of the participants stated a preference for a webinar over an in-person format. Interestingly, most attendees did not feel that their university had provided them with adequate information on preparing for a surgical career with over half of the attendees stating that they had to attend events by external organisations to obtain such information. Conclusions This study has demonstrated that a webinar can be effectively utilised to educate students and doctors on the various domains of the CST portfolio and how to maximise points in each section. Such events could address the variability of university resources and national societies across the country and provide equal opportunities for students. Further studies that directly compare webinars with in-person events and investigate long-term outcomes, such as success in CST applications, are required.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-022-03399-3WebinarCore Surgical TrainingPortfolio |
| spellingShingle | Siddarth Raj Harroop Bola Amar Rai Sarika Grover Anisha Bandyopadhyay Vinci Naruka Evaluating the utility of an international webinar as a platform to educate students and doctors on the UK core surgical training portfolio BMC Medical Education Webinar Core Surgical Training Portfolio |
| title | Evaluating the utility of an international webinar as a platform to educate students and doctors on the UK core surgical training portfolio |
| title_full | Evaluating the utility of an international webinar as a platform to educate students and doctors on the UK core surgical training portfolio |
| title_fullStr | Evaluating the utility of an international webinar as a platform to educate students and doctors on the UK core surgical training portfolio |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluating the utility of an international webinar as a platform to educate students and doctors on the UK core surgical training portfolio |
| title_short | Evaluating the utility of an international webinar as a platform to educate students and doctors on the UK core surgical training portfolio |
| title_sort | evaluating the utility of an international webinar as a platform to educate students and doctors on the uk core surgical training portfolio |
| topic | Webinar Core Surgical Training Portfolio |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-022-03399-3 |
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