Maximizing Your Experience During Your Surgical Training Session
Surgical competence requires training, awareness and experience. When students enter our surgical training center, they receive hands-on cadaver training to aid in their journey of becoming a surgeon.
Cadavers allow students to break free from slides and diagrams and work on their first "patient."
If you're preparing to work on your first cadaver during training, the tips below can aid in your learning experience. Here are four tips to maximize your experience during your surgical training session:
4 Tips For Maximizing Your Time at Our Surgical Training Center
1. MAKE NOTE OF TISSUE FIRMNESS AND DIFFERENCES
Cadavers offer a different experience from working on simulations. When you're working on the cadaver, you'll want to make note of the difference in tissue firmness and density between young and old cadavers.
2. JOT DOWN NOTES RELATING TO DISEASE, SPATIAL RELATIONSHIPS, ETC.
Simulations are different from real-world surgical procedures because you'll gain hands-on experience, which will allow you to make a note of:
Spatial relationships between different structures in the body. Additionally, the entire view of the area will be visible, allowing for a better view of the tissue, organs or other areas where the surgery is taking place.
Cadavers often include bodies that have been through a wide range of distress and disease. Therefore, when working on the body, be cognizant of the role disease plays in the body and the effects that it may have had on the body.
If this is your first time working on a cadaver, you must pay close attention to detail with every incision you make.
3. REVIEW THE EXPERIENCE AFTER THE SESSION
Once your session is done, you'll want to review the entire session while the information is still fresh in your mind. For example, you'll want to take notes and think about:
Differences outlined above
The procedure and what you learned
Questions that you may have relating to the surgery
Additional information
A thorough review of the entire process is worthwhile for students. There will be a significant difference between any simulations that you've done and working on a real-world cadaver. Noting these distinctions will allow you to review them and improve your skills the next time you work on a cadaver or a living subject.
4. MEMORIZATION TECHNIQUES THAT CAN HELP
One thing that's pertinent to remember is that the experience at our surgical training center is just one step in gaining confidence as a surgeon. You'll spend a lot of time memorizing information throughout your career, and the following tips can help you boost memorization further:
Create connections between procedures and steps in each procedure. Connections can be made with colors, words, tissues or anything you want.
Spaced repetition helps improve recall. For example, you may want to review materials in a week, two weeks, a month and then three months to ensure that you retain the information over the long term.
Review, review and review some more. You can use simulations, watch surgical procedures on video and even visualize the procedure in your head to boost memorization.
Surgical training sessions are often a student's first, real-world work on a body. Using the tips above can help you with maximizing your experience during your surgical training session.
