MANGOU (Miyazaki Advanced New General Surgery of University) Wet Lab Training Relieves Anxiety About Surgical Skills in Surgical Education: A Cross-Sectional Study

TL;DR

A surgical training program called MANGOU reduced anxiety and increased confidence and interest in surgery among trainees.

Contribution

The MANGOU program is a novel wet lab training initiative that effectively recruits new surgeons by improving trainee confidence and motivation.

Findings

Trainees showed significantly increased confidence in surgical skills after the program.

Interest in surgery and willingness to become surgeons also improved significantly.

Most trainees enjoyed the program and wanted to participate again.

Abstract

Purpose: To increase the number of medical students or residents who want to become surgeons, we must evaluate our program that recruits new young surgeons.

Methods: We planned surgical training programs for medical students and residents that we named the MANGOU (Miyazaki Advanced New General surgery Of University) training project in the Department of Surgery, Miyazaki University, Japan. From January 2016 through December 2022, we asked trainees who attended this training to complete questionnaires to evaluate their interest in surgery, confidence in surgical skills, and training. Scoring of the questionnaire responses was based on a 5-point Likert scale, and we evaluated this training prospectively.

Results: Among the 109 trainees participating in this training, 61 answered the questionnaires. Two participants found the training boring, but 59 (96.7%) enjoyed it. All of them answered “Yes” to wanting to participate in the next training. Respective pre- and post-training scores were as follows: confidence in surgical skills, 2.2 ± 1.0 and 3.0 ± 1.0 (p < 0.0001); interest in surgery, 4.2 ± 0.8 and 4.4 ± 0.5 (p = 0.0011); and willingness to become surgeons, 3.9 ± 0.7 and 4.1 ± 0.6 (p = 0.0011). All scores rose after MANGOU training.

Conclusion: We planned MANGOU surgical wet lab training for medical students and residents that aimed to educate and recruit new surgeons. After joining the MANGOU training, the trainees’ anxiety about surgery was reduced, their confidence in performing surgical procedures improved, they showed more interest in surgery, and they increased their motivation to become surgeons.

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