The impact of a surgical boot camp on early acquisition of technical and nontechnical skills by novice surgical trainees

Background Acquisition of skills early in surgical training represents a significant challenge at present because of training time constraints. The aim of this study was to investigate if an intensive surgical boot camp was effective in transferring skills at the beginning of a surgical training program. Methods New core surgical trainees (n = 58) took part in a 5-day boot camp. There were pretest and posttest assessments of knowledge, technical skills, and confidence levels. The boot camp used simulation and senior surgical faculty to teach a defined range of technical and nontechnical skills. Results The scores for knowledge (53.8% vs 68.4%, P <.01), technical skills (35.9% to 60.6% vs 50.6% to 78.2%, P <.01), and confidence levels improved significantly during boot camp. Skills improvements were still present a year later. Conclusion The 5-day surgical boot camp proved to be an effective way to rapidly acquire surgical knowledge and skills while increasing the confidence levels of trainees.