61 “Research in Surgery – Building the Foundations” – a Mixed-Methods Evaluation of a New Collaborative Regional Teaching Series

Aim

Research is integral to the progression of the surgical profession and requires a sustainable pipeline of diverse academics. Interest in academia begins at undergraduate level, however lack of exposure acts as a barrier to participation. We aimed to provide exposure to surgical academia via webinars and review the impact of this series.

Method

Four monthly sessions were delivered and facilitated in collaboration with medical students, foundation trainees, and surgical academics. Sessions covered core topics for students and foundation trainees, including audit/quality improvement, statistics, and research funding. Data were collected via post-event surveys which included scaled-based and free-text responses. These were analysed with appropriate statistics and thematic content analysis respectively.

Results

Across the sessions there were 79 attendances by 58 individuals. n = 52/58 were students, with 38% (n = 20/52) studying outside the region. The median overall rating was 8/10 (quartiles 8-10) and 98.7% (n = 78/79) would recommend to a colleague. Post-session confidence improved significantly for all sessions compared to pre-session confidence (p≤0.010 in all cases).

Thematic content analysis summarised attendees learning points into three semantic themes. (1) how to access research opportunities, (2) pragmatic learning on undertaking research (including funding, statistics, and dissemination) and (3) the importance of mentorship and networking. Respondents valued the insights and experiences of facilitators. Improvements included shorter sessions and clearly explaining novel language.

Conclusions

Our results highlight the benefits of these sessions for providing exposure and improving understanding of surgical academia, with relevance for others aiming to engage students and doctors in academia. We plan future sessions building on this.